The Republican-controlled Senate voted 26-20 after about three hours of debate, passing it with the minimum 26 votes needed to send it to the House. The bill would ban abortions once a fertilized egg implants in the uterus. Exceptions would be allowed in cases of rape and incest, but a patient seeking an abortion for any reason would have to sign a notarized affidavit of assault. Indiana is one of the first Republican-controlled states to discuss tougher abortion laws after the US Supreme Court last month overturned precedent establishing a national right to abortion. But the GOP split after rape and incest exemptions remained in the bill and 10 Republican senators voted against the legislation. Abortion rights advocates said before the vote that the bill went too far. Dr. Roberto Darroca, one of several doctors who testified against him, argued for an exception to preserve the mother’s health. “Decisions must be made quickly. Waiting for legal counsel will freeze that decision-making process,” Darroca said. “Can you imagine the dilemma facing the doctor? The doctor’s freedom over the life of the patient and the child?’ Abortion opponents said it did not go far enough. Mark Hosbein was among a large crowd at the Statehouse on Tuesday. For the second day in a row in the special legislative session, cheers and chants from protesters were heard during committee hearings in the Senate chambers. Hosbein, of Indianapolis, said he supports an abortion without exceptions — even to protect the life of the mother. “It’s wrong to try to kill the mother to save the baby and it’s wrong to try to kill the baby to save the mother,” he said. “There are all kinds of boundaries, restrictions and everything that goes on here. But I’m here hoping to stop the whole thing.” A national poll this month found that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe their state should generally allow abortion in certain circumstances, including if a woman’s life is in danger or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Few believe abortion should always be illegal, according to an Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center poll. A vote Thursday afternoon in the Senate on the amendment that would have removed the rape and incest exemptions failed 28-18, with 18 Republicans and 10 Democrats on hand to keep the exemptions. Some of the Republicans who didn’t want the exemptions will have to support the bill to move from the Senate to the GOP-controlled House. Nicole Erwin, of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Indiana, said Friday that she expected it to pass the Senate, followed by House lawmakers who approved a full ban. “They’ve been waiting for this moment for far too long,” Ervin said in a statement. “We’ve seen time and time again that we can only expect the worst from them, which means lifting the ban on abortion.” Anti-abortion groups tried to increase pressure on conservative lawmakers. If they don’t pass legislation during the three-week session, “they have to explain to the voters why they didn’t do anything in Indiana to address this issue,” Mike Fichter, president of Right to Life Indiana, said earlier this week . . House Republican Speaker Todd Houston declined to talk about what the Senate bill includes, but said he supports the rape and incest exemptions. “I’ve told myself we’ll deal with it all next week,” he said.
Arleigh Rodgers is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative corps. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers
Find complete AP coverage of the overturning of Roe v. Wade at:
