Indianapolis – The Indiana House today concurred by a 75-17 vote on Senate changes made to House Bill 1217, a bill to help protect women from coerced abortions in Indiana, sending the bill to Governor Eric Holcomb to sign into law. The roll call vote is here.
House Bill 1217 will make it a felony in Indiana to coerce a woman into having an abortion, and will also hold abortion clinics accountable for any failure to report coercion to law enforcement. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Joanna King.
According to a study published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, nearly 75 percent of the 987 American women who participated in an after-abortion survey admitted that they experienced “at least subtle forms of pressure to terminate their pregnancies.”
Landmark research on human trafficking published in 2014 reported 30 percent of women reported multiple abortions while trapped in human trafficking. The same report indicated 55 percent of women had at least one abortion while trapped in human trafficking.
When signed into law, Indiana will join 18 other states with laws against coerced abortions.
“The Indiana legislature is to be applauded for strengthening protections for women who might otherwise be forced by their abusers into abortions they do not wish to have,” states Indiana Right to Life President and CEO Mike Fichter. “It is regretful, but not surprising, that abortion supporters opposed this legislation, placing the business of abortion over the safety of women.”
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