Ten Republicans crossed party lines Saturday in voting against the bill, with some of them saying the near-total ban didn’t go far enough. The GOP-authored bill says those seeking an abortion after rape or incest would have to sign an affidavit certifying the assault. Indiana currently allows abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization (or 22 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual period). It is one of two states, including West Virginia, reconvening special sessions to consider abortion restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June, finding that there was no longer a federal constitutional right to procedure. Debates on Saturday were heated and emotional at times, echoing debates over the bill from earlier in the week. Senate President Susan Crouch, a Republican, threatened to clear the gallery more than once after backlash erupted both inside the session and from protesters gathered outside. CNN affiliate WRTV filmed large numbers of protesters gathering and chanting opposition to the bill in the chamber. Some held signs reading “my body, my choice” and “abortion bans replace freedom with violence.” The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Susan Glick, had previously admitted she wasn’t happy with it, calling it a “vehicle bill” on Saturday. Glick said she expects the House to make changes, but adding in its current form, the bill is an “expression of where we think the state of Indiana is right now.” If the state House makes changes to the bill, it will go back to the Senate for another vote. Democratic state Sen. Jean Breaux called SB1 a “flawed bill” that A “deprives a woman of her right to choose.” Breaux added: “The decision whether to have a baby is a complex balancing act of responsibility and opportunity that should be weighed by each woman, not by politicians or Supreme Court justices.” The bill passed a Senate committee on Tuesday, with some Republican members voting in favor of the bill but hoping it would be amended. The committee also held an extensive public hearing earlier in the week, with dozens of people, from doctors to religious leaders to private individuals, expressing their views on the bill. While some opposed the bill for the limits it placed on abortions, others opposed the measure for its exemptions or what they described as vague language. The anti-abortion group National Right to Life and its Indiana affiliate had voiced opposition to the bill before it passed the state Senate, calling it “deeply flawed” and a “weak and troubling” measure. “The bill fails fundamentally in many areas, including its failure to provide any meaningful enforcement provisions. This bill passes muster on paper, but has no teeth to actually reduce abortion in Indiana by detaining those who have abortions or willfully violate the law accountable with criminal consequences,” Indiana Right to Life said in a statement.
