Bill underscores the humanity of each aborted baby, requires abortion clinics to fully inform women considering drug-induced abortions

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Indiana Right to Life applauds today’s passage of Senate Bill 299 by the Indiana House as a critical step in underscoring the humanity of each aborted baby while detailing what abortion clinics must tell women considering abortion about Indiana’s humane final disposition law.  The bill passed by a vote of 78-13. The bill will now move to Governor Eric Holcomb for his consideration.
A key component of the bill is a requirement that abortion clinics must inform pregnant women considering abortion-inducing drugs that, following the abortion, there will be the expulsion of an aborted baby. Abortion clinics must also allow women to return aborted babies for humane disposition by interment or cremation.
The bill also requires that abortion clinics maintain a log for each aborted baby. This log must include the date of the abortion, whether the abortion was surgical or induced by an abortion inducing drug, and whether a funeral director will be retrieving the aborted baby. In the event of a chemically induced abortion, the log must identify whether the pregnant woman will cremate or inter the aborted baby, or whether she will return the aborted baby to the abortion facility for cremation or interment.
The bill also requires that any contracts between abortion clinics and crematoriums or funeral homes must be made available for review by the state, and that copies of any burial transit permits must be kept in a permanent file. In addition, any entity receiving aborted babies for interment or cremation must confirm that the total number of aborted babies match the information contained in the burial transit and accompanying log. This section in particular will help prevent any Klopfer-like situations from ever happening again in Indiana.
“The fact that this bill addresses the humane final disposition of aborted babies underscores the humanity of each one of them,” states Indiana Right to Life President and CEO Mike Fichter. “Indiana’s current humane final disposition law, as upheld by the Supreme Court, contains grey areas we believe abortion clinics use to keep women in the dark, especially when it comes to drug-induced abortions. This bill addresses these areas and makes sure women get all the facts, including the reality that a drug-induced abortion will result in an aborted baby. We will continue working for a day when no child is aborted in Indiana. Until that day comes, this bill will make sure these children are never again treated like common medical waste in our state.”
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Seven Indiana congressional members join amicus brief in case that will impact Indiana 

INDIANAPOLIS – Seven members of Indiana’s congressional delegation are included among the 207 members of congress adding their names to an amicus brief calling for the Supreme Court to uphold a Louisiana law requiring abortion doctors in that state to hold local hospital admitting privileges.

The brief states all signers, “have a special interest in the correct interpretation, application, and enforcement of health and safety standards for elective abortion enacted by the People of the States they represent.”

The case before the U.S. Supreme Court is June Medical Services, LLC, et al. v Rebekah Gee, Secretary, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

The Indiana congressional members joining the brief are:

Sen. Mike Braun
Sen. Todd Young
Rep. Jim Baird
Rep. Jim Banks
Rep. Larry Bucshon
Rep. Greg Pence
Rep. Jackie Walorski

“We applaud these members of Indiana’s congressional delegation for adding their names in support of the Louisiana law,” states Indiana Right to Life President and CEO Mike Fichter.  “The court’s actions regarding this case are certain to have implications on Indiana’s abortion law.”

 

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County-Wide Human Life Resolution Passes in Kosciusko County

Warsaw, IN. – Today, the Kosciusko County Board of Commissioners unanimously declared Kosciusko County to be a pro-life county by passing a resolution in support of human life.  The resolution affirms the right to life found in the Declaration of Independence and states “human life begins at the moment of conception and continues, uninterrupted, until the moment of natural death.”

The resolution encourages, “assistance for women by helping them find health care; helping mothers and fathers who make the decision to parent their child; supporting mothers and fathers who make an adoption plan for their baby and couples who seek to adopt; and encouraging businesses and schools to provide appropriate accommodations for pregnant women.” It also petitions leaders at higher levels of government to protect life, urging government to “use every legal means to protect and fight for every human life, including the lives of unborn boys and girls.”

The Kosciusko County resolution follows similar resolutions which were passed in Allen County and Indiana cities: Huntertown, Woodburn and New Haven.

“We want to thank the Board of Commissioners for their leadership in encouraging the protection of all human life,” said Dave Koontz, Executive Director of Right to Life of North Central Indiana. “This resolution affirms that Kosciusko County encourages the support for women in difficult circumstances and is a reminder that there are always ways to support and love both the mother and baby. The passing of this resolution should also be an example to other north central Indiana counties to follow.”

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Five Quick Facts About The Indiana SCOTUS Ruling

1. The Supreme Court ruled on two separate parts of Indiana’s Dignity for the Unborn Act (HEA 1337) signed into law by then-Governor Mike Pence in 2016:

1) The requirement that aborted babies be treated humanely by disposition of burial or cremation; and

2) A prohibition on abortions solely for the purpose of an unborn child’s race, sex, national origin, potential disability or Down syndrome.

2. The Court reversed a Seventh Circuit ruling that blocked Indiana law requiring the humane disposal of aborted babies through burial or cremation. Since 1973 and until this ruling, aborted babies in Indiana have been treated as common medical waste or garbage. One former abortion clinic employee testified before an Indiana legislative committee that she watched aborted babies being flushed down a drain into the Indianapolis sewer system.

3. The Supreme Court decided not to consider the issue concerning the civil rights protections, but did leave the issue open for future consideration, noting, “Our opinion likewise expresses no view on the merits of the second question presented, i.e., whether Indiana may prohibit the knowing provision of sex, race, and disability selective abortions by abortion providers. Only the Seventh Circuit has thus far addressed this kind of law. We follow our ordinary practice of denying petitions insofar as they raise legal issues that have not been considered by additional Courts of Appeals.”

4. The Court’s opinion was issued per curiam, meaning an opinion by the Court as a whole that does not identify any particular justice as the author. Justice Thomas wrote a concurring opinion while Justice Ginsberg wrote a dissenting and concurring opinion stating she would have denied Indiana’s petition for review in its entirety. Justice Sotomayor stated separately that she would have denied the petition in its entirety.

5. The Court is also expected to decide soon if it will hear Indiana’s appeal on another provision of HEA 1337 requiring that a woman considering an abortion be provided with the opportunity to view an ultrasound of her unborn baby at least 18 hours prior to an abortion. The ultrasound provision is currently blocked by the Seventh Circuit, leading to a rise in abortions in Indiana.