Today the Supreme Court stole a freedom away from the American people. In overturning the 49-year-old case Roe v. Wade, the Court has ensured that every Hoosier’s right to bodily autonomy is now subject to the whim of Indiana politicians.
That is a power Indiana’s Supermajority has already proven it is not responsible enough to carry.
Over the past 10 years, the Supermajority has taken every opportunity to chip away at the rights of Hoosier women to choose safe, appropriate, and life-saving abortions. Over the past 10 years, the Supermajority has also overseen a decline in Hoosier women and children’s overall wellbeing and quality of life. Now, access to reproductive health services will become a choice that legislators get to make for every woman in the state. I can’t think of any group of people less qualified to be making those decisions.
Like many women, I experienced an unplanned pregnancy. Protected by Roe, I had the power to make the choices that would best serve my health and my family’s future. I had the freedom to make the right decision for myself in that moment, which was to start a family. Today I am devastated to know that if my daughter found herself in similar circumstances, she would not be guaranteed that same power over her own body and her own future.
On July 25, the Indiana General Assembly is set to convene a special legislative session. The Supermajority will have a choice to make. Will they choose to trust Hoosiers and their doctors to make the right medical decisions for themselves? Or will they choose to interfere in the most personal situation a woman can face?
The consequences of more extreme abortion restrictions in Indiana would be devastating not just for women, but all Hoosiers. An abortion ban would:
- Disproportionately affect poorer women and women of color
- Force women to have illegal and unsafe abortions just like in the pre-Roe era
- Risk the lives of mothers who experience life-threatening complications during pregnancies
- Make doctors unwilling to perform life-saving medical operations on pregnant women out of fear they will run afoul of abortion bans
- Encourage young Hoosiers to move out of Indiana to other states where they feel safer and freer
- Encourage companies to move jobs out of Indiana to other states where reproductive rights are protected
This is not what Hoosiers are asking for from their representatives. If this is the path the Supermajority chooses to take, Hoosiers must elect new leaders.
Leaders who will codify the rights established in Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in Indiana state law. Leaders who trust Hoosiers and their doctors to make the best medical choices for themselves. Leaders who will protect the health and dignity of Hoosier women and children. Leaders who will work on improving Indiana’s maternal health. Leaders who will work on improving the lives of Indiana’s kids. Leaders who will loudly oppose the Supermajority’s extremism.
As your state senator, I promise to be that kind of leader. I will fight to protect reproductive rights and always strive to make Indiana a healthier place for every Hoosier.
If your current representatives refuse to make that same commitment, vote them out on November 8.