The consequences of revoking the right to abortion in the United States are materializing. Indiana officially became the first US state on Friday to adopt new restrictions on abortion use, according to the Associated Press, just over a month after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade that until then served as jurisprudence on the right to abortion. The ban will take effect on September 15.
“I am happy (…), it is one of the greatest challenges that we have had to take on as a general assembly, or at least since I have been part of it,” greeted the Republican president of the Indiana Senate, Rodric Bray.
“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity that we have to take advantage of moving forward,” he said.
The decision was approved 28-19 by senators from Indiana, after being ratified 62-38 by the House. Abortion rights activists protested outside the Capitol after the announcement.
Exceptions provided in case of rape or incest
The new planned restrictions have several exceptions. Indeed, abortion will continue to be possible in cases of rape or incest, but only in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, in cases where the life of the mother is in danger or if a lethal malformation is detected in the fetus.
Abortions still authorized can no longer be performed in a clinic. From mid-September, patients will have to go to the hospital or hospital dispensaries, and will also be forced to resort to abortion.
The decision also states that the license of doctors who perform illegal abortions will be revoked.
“A Democratic Retreat”
Some Indiana lawmakers who oppose the decision have publicly deplored the results of the vote.
“It is a democratic setback. What other freedoms are on the bench waiting to be eliminated?” worried Democratic Senator Jean D. Breaux.
Republican senators have also expressed their disapproval of the new law. Senator Mike Bohacek, who voted against the law, lamented in particular that the decision does not sufficiently protect women with disabilities who are victims of rape; evoking the case of his 21-year-old daughter, who suffered from trisomy 21.
“If you lost your favorite stuffed animal, you’d be heartbroken. Imagine you’re pregnant,” she said.
One of the first states to debate new restrictions
Indiana was one of the first US states to debate adopting a more restrictive abortion framework, after the Supreme Court voted in late June, ending case law dating back to 1973. The decision paved the way for path for every US state to roll back abortion rights.
The state recently made headlines after authorities investigated an Indianapolis gynecologist. The doctor had helped a 10-year-old girl have an abortion after being raped.
Unlike Indiana, Kansas residents voted this week to uphold the constitutional guarantee of abortion, in the first major vote on abortion since the US Supreme Court struck down the federal right to abortion.
Source: BFM TV
