INDIANAPOLIS — A controversial bill restricting the reasons a woman can have an abortion is now heading to Gov. Mike Pence after the Indiana House concurred with changes made in the Senate.
The concurrence on House Bill 1337 passed out of the House 60-40 after emotional testimony from both sides of the aisle. The final tally showed 11 House Republicans voted with the 29 Democrats either out of concerns with the changes the Senate made or because of the process by which the bill was pushed through.
When it left the House, HB 1337 just contained language regulating the disposal of fetal remains, either from an abortion or a miscarriage. The Senate added language relating to abortions after a similar Senate bill died in the House. The language states a physician can't perform an abortion if the mother tells him the reason for an abortion is because of the baby's gender, ethnicity or a diagnosed developmental disorder such as Down syndrome.
Because the bill was amended in the Senate and author Rep. Casey Cox, R-Fort Wayne, concurred with the changes, the abortion language was never discussed in the House, which rankled some members.
Rep. Holli Sullivan, R-Evansville, said none of the women in her district got to discuss or testify on HB 1337.
"I feel that my constituents are worthy of their input in the process," Sullivan said. "Female legislators in the House, they also didn't get a chance to vet, amend or make the Senate addition to the bill better."
Both Sullivan and Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Mount Vernon, voted against the bill despite a strong history of being pro-life. Both of them said they couldn't vote for the bill because of the lack of a vetting process.
McNamara, who teared up while speaking on the bill, said it made her sick to her stomach to vote against HB 1337, saying the original language was very important to her because of personal experiences. But she couldn't vote with a clean conscience because the bill didn't go through the proper channels.
"I respect the process and the institution of government," she said. "This bill did not go through the process."
She also had several concerns with the Senate's additions and said she feared the bill would not reduce abortions but would instead increase dishonesty with patients and doctors.
"I think this will force women to find other deceitful alternatives," McNamara said.
Others, like Rep. Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville, said it wasn't the place of the Legislature to decide these issues.
"We need more women here," Eberhart said. "We're a bunch of middle-age men trying to make decisions on women's health."
Cox said he understood this was a difficult decision for many but said he wanted to err on the side of life and protect the rights of unborn children who can't speak up for themselves.
"I'm standing here, because I couldn't look myself in the mirror if I didn't do everything I could to try and extend protections to my children's counterparts," Cox said.