I try not to
get too political on my blog, and I always try to respect other people’s
opinions, but this week I encountered something that is simply too egregious to
ignore. I am talking about the new
Indiana state law, HEA 1337.
According to the Indian General Assembly, this bill:
· Requires
the state department of health to develop certain information concerning
perinatal hospice care.
· Requires
physicians to provide information about perinatal hospice care to a pregnant
woman who is considering an abortion because the unborn child has been
diagnosed with a lethal fetal anomaly.
· Requires
documentation as a matter of informed consent to an abortion that the pregnant
woman received the required information about perinatal hospice care.
· Provides
that the gender of the fetus and the medical indication by diagnosis code for
the fetus and the mother must be reported on the pregnancy termination form for
an early pre-viability termination.
· Prohibits
a person from performing an abortion if the person knows that the pregnant
woman is seeking the abortion solely because of: (1) the race, color, national
origin, ancestry, or sex of the fetus; or (2) a diagnosis or potential
diagnosis of the fetus having Down syndrome or any other disability.
· Provides
for disciplinary sanctions and civil liability for wrongful death if a person
knowingly or intentionally performs a sex selective abortion or an abortion
conducted because of a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of Down syndrome or any
other disability.
· Provides
that informed consent for an abortion must be obtained in a private setting.
· Provides
that a pregnant woman considering an abortion must be given the opportunity to
view the fetal ultrasound imaging and hear the auscultation of the fetal heart
tone at least 18 hours before the abortion is performed and at the same time
that informed consent is obtained.
· Provides
that a miscarried or aborted fetus must be interred or cremated by a facility
having possession of the remains. Requires a person or facility having
possession of a miscarried or aborted fetus to ensure that the miscarried fetus
or aborted fetus is preserved until final disposition occurs.
· Specifies
that: (1) a person is not required to designated a name for the miscarried or
aborted fetus; and (2) information submitted with respect to the disposition of
a miscarried or aborted fetus that may be used to identify the parent or
parents of a miscarried fetus or a pregnant who had an abortion is confidential
and must be redacted from any public records maintained under the burial permit
law.
According to CNN, Indiana already has
some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation, and Pence called the
bill, House Enrolled Act 1337, a "comprehensive pro-life measure." This bill was so extreme that even Republican
women voted against it.
I am so sick of Republican MEN who claim that they want smaller
government and LESS regulation on their businesses, yet they feel totally
justified in telling women what to do with their bodies. Not only that, but also this law actually
forces a women to carry a pregnancy to term even if she knows that the fetus
has a genetic deformity or she will be breaking the law. This bill forces families to cremate remains
of aborted or naturally miscarried fetuses, adding financial strain and
additional burdens to families who are already grieving and struggling through a
difficult time.
I applaud the creative and independent women
of Indiana who have decided that since their governor is so worried aobut their reproductive
organs that they have begun a Periods for Pence campign where thousands of
women are calling the governor’s office every day to let him know how their uterus
and vaginas are doing. You can find out
more about the #periodsforpence group
through their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Periods-for-Pence-565501973618299/?fref=ts)
There is also an online petition that you can sign to voice
your concern about this bill http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-indianas-hb-1337
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