Pleas from St. Joseph County health officials to include key exceptions in a law banning abortion seem likely to be met by Republican state lawmakers. While local health officials say this policy will prevent deaths, they also point to evidence showing that states with more abortion restrictions consistently report poorer health outcomes for mothers and children.
The lobbying comes ahead of legislators convening Monday for a session ending Aug. 14 in which Republicans plan a near total ban on abortion. Senate Republicans presented a bill this week that would ban abortion in all cases except for when rape or incest has occurred or when "a substantial impairment to the life of the mother" is imminent.
A letter endorsed by four doctors who lead the county health department and the related county Board of Health was sent to all nine of the state representatives and senators in the county. Leaders called for pregnant people to maintain the right to choose in "exceptional circumstances" or else worsen the state's health outcomes. The statement also said Indiana "lack[s] the presence of strong policies to support family health and well-being and economic stability, especially for families with low incomes."
“There’s this kind of paradox: The states that have the most abortion restrictions also tend to have the worst maternal mortality and infant mortality," said Sally Dixon, who oversees maternal and infant health initiatives at the St. Joseph County Department of Health. "And that’s a function of that focus on restricting abortion rather than focusing on the kinds of policies that support pregnancy, family and well-being.”
Indiana would become one of eight states to ban most abortions at zero weeks, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Current law allows abortions up to 22 weeks after conception. Emergency contraception such as Plan B would be allowed under the new proposal, as would terminating pregnancies in which the fetus suffers a fatal fetal abnormality.