In recent months, the public has heard innumerable debates over reproductive rights. From Donald Trump’s statement about punishment for abortions to Texas’s recent law, which restricted financial access to abortions, various state legislatures have been pressured about and are pressuring limitations of the rights of uteri.
However, an even more devastating bill was approved by the Indiana legislature in early March. The law, HB 1337 authorizes appallingly unconstitutional TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws, prohibits abortion based on the knowledge of a potentially fatal illness in the fetus, and requires a miscarried or aborted fetus to have a funeral or cremation — at its parent’s expense.
On top of the misogynistic devilry of the law, it is able to be passed into law without alerting anyone — Governor Mike Pence only has to sign the bill for it to become part of the legislation. According to an article on the website Bustle, the conservative-dominated state legislature passed it without any public notification.
The bill also depends upon proving a woman’s motivation for getting an abortion. It outlaws abortions based on “the race, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex of the fetus; or a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of the fetus having Down syndrome or any other disability.” Supporters of the law claim this will help protect fetuses from discrimination, however, it also means that the state decides whether or not the abortion was performed for a lawful reason — if they say that it isn’t, the doctor who performed the abortion or the person receiving the abortion could be charged with wrongful death, a criminal charge that can lead to prison time. The potential for the persecution and trumped-up conviction of women is high.
As I stated before, the bill requires the parent or parents of an aborted or miscarried fetus to pay for and hold a funeral or cremation for the fetus — even fetuses that are not developed and are just a cluster of cells. The parent is also required to listen to the heartbeat of their fetus at least eighteen hours before they have the abortion. The cost of these on top of the price of the procedure itself makes it much more difficult for many people to afford, which leads to the state of Indiana essentially controlling women’s bodies and limiting their reproductive rights.
What’s interesting is that supporters of the bill are saying it will reduce discrimination against the fetus, as the Bustle article pointed out, but Indiana is notorious for its discriminatory actions against the LGBTQ+ community. So, where is the line drawn? Who is to say who gets protection from discrimination?
Update: The law was passed quietly sometime during the week of April 4, 2016
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