-Kacee Biggs-

Cousins!

Get into this. Indiana became the first state in the nation to pass a near-total abortion ban following the overturning of Roe v. Wade!

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law, which goes into effect on September 15. It should be noted that there are some exceptions to the ban, such as allowing women to seek an abortion if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, if a lethal fetal anomaly has been diagnosed, or if the pregnant woman’s life is at “serious risk.”

The IndyStar reported the bill passed the Indiana House in a 62-38 vote, and later passed the Indiana Senate in a 28-19 vote; no democrats supported the bill.

“Following the overturning of Roe, I stated clearly that I would be willing to support legislation that made progress in protecting life,” Holcomb said. “In my view, SEA 1 accomplishes this goal following its passage in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly with a solid majority of support.

The new law also specified that abortions can only be performed in hospitals or outpatient centers affiliated with hospitals, which means abortion clinics will lose their licenses. Furthermore, the law states that physicians will lose their medical licenses if they perform an illegal abortion or do not “file required reports,” as per the Associated Press. Under the current law, doctors “may” lose their medical license if they perform an abortion.

In response to the ban, a pharmaceutical company based in Indianapolis, IN called Eli Lilly, announced that it would make an effort to grow its company outside of Indiana. “As a global company headquartered in Indianapolis for more than 145 years, we work hard to retain and attract thousands of people who are important drivers of our state’s economy. Given this new law, we will be forced to plan for more employment growth outside our home state.” The company mentioned it already expanded its employee health care coverage to include traveling to other states for abortions.

The Biden administration is totally against the ban with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying it was “a devastating step.” Last week, President Biden signed an executive order supporting individuals traveling out state for an abortion.

Cousins, how do y’all feel about this new law in place?