Indianapolis (US), August 6
Indiana on Friday became the first state in the nation to approve abortion restrictions since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, as the Republican Governor quickly signed a near-total ban on the procedure shortly after lawmakers approved it.
The ban, which takes effect on September 15, includes some exceptions. Abortions would be permitted in cases of rape and incest before 10-weeks post-fertilisation, to protect the life and physical health of the mother, and if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly. Victims of rape and incest would not be required to sign a notarised affidavit attesting to an attack, as had once been proposed.
Under the Bill, abortions can be performed only in hospitals or outpatient centres owned by hospitals, meaning all abortion clinics would lose their licences. A doctor who performs an illegal abortion or fails to file required reports must also lose their medical licence — wording that tightens current Indiana law that says a doctor “may” lose their licence.
“I am personally most proud of each Hoosier who came forward to courageously share their views in a debate that is unlikely to cease any time soon,” Governor Eric Holcomb said in the statement announcing he had signed the measure. “For my part as your Governor, I will continue to keep an open ear.”
Indiana was among the earliest Republican-run state legislatures to debate tighter abortion laws after the Supreme Court ruling in June that removed constitutional protections for the procedure. But it is the first state to pass a ban through both chambers, after West Virginia lawmakers on July 29 passed up the chance to be that state. — AP
