Scott Tibbs
Indiana's surprisingly good abortion law
By Scott Tibbs, August 17, 2022
I was pleasantly surprised that Indiana's abortion ban is as strong as it is, especially after the incredibly weak version first proposed by Senate Republicans. Fortunately, House Republicans fixed many of the bill's flaws. Now abortion is banned with the exception of rape, incest, life or physical health of the mother, or severe fetal deformity. The bill also takes away the ability of clinics like Planned Parenthood to kill babies, leaving that to hospitals or surgical centers owned by hospitals.
As expected, the bill brought howls of outrage. One of the more outrageous lies being spread about the bill is that Indiana would now force women to carry dead fetuses to term. Legislation that allows abortion for severe fetal deformity would not ban the extraction of a dead baby. The people who are making this claim either do not know what the bill says or they are lying. Many of the people saying this cannot credibly claim ignorance given the text of the bill. They are just liars.
The arguments for banning abortion have been gone over so many times that it seems redundant to say it again. But I will say this:
Of course this is forcing religion on people. We ban murder for the same reason: The Sixth Commandment and Genesis 9:6 are both very clear that God prohibits the shedding of innocent blood. No serious person claims that banning the killing of a 30 year old violates "separation of church and state." What this does is extend the protection of those laws to babies that have not yet been born.
No, this should not have been voted on by the people. Elected representatives are doing their job by writing legislation, and all 100 members of the house and 25 of 50 senators will be up for re-election this fall. The people can vote then. Furthermore, a constitutional amendment would not even be able to be voted on until at least 2024, and possibly 2026. In the meantime, between 1600 and 2400 babies would die. It is their job to save lives, and they did what they were elected to do.
But there is more to do. I will address that on Wednesday...
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