There is no such thing as a “near total” abortion law. It is either “total” or it is something else.
Indiana became the first state in the country since Roe. v. Wade was overturned to approve a near-total abortion ban Friday night.
The big picture: The ban comes after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade sent the issue of abortion rights back to the states. Many Republican states have already begun taking action to ban the procedure, but Indiana is the first to pass a bill following the ruling.
Zoom in: Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law late Friday night after the Indiana House and Senate passed the bill earlier that day.
The ban takes effect beginning Sept. 15.
Under the bill, abortions can be performed at hospitals or outpatient centers owned by hospitals. This means abortion clinics will lose licenses in Indiana.
Doctors who perform an illegal abortion, or fail to report them, will also lose their licenses under the new law, the Associated Press reports.
Yes, but: The ban includes some exceptions, including cases of rape, incest, if the fetus is diagnosed to be a lethal anomaly and cases to protect the life of the mother, AP reports.
Of note: Indiana currently allows abortions up to 20 weeks post-fertilization (or 22 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual period), CNN reports.
As I said from the beginning: with the “protect the life of the mother” exception, any woman can get a psychiatrist (who is a medical doctor) to claim that having a baby would destroy the woman’s mental health and put her at risk of suicide. Therefore, any woman can have an abortion with the assistance of a psychiatrist.
Further, there is no way to prove “rape.” If a woman says “some guy raped me, I don’t know who he was” – then what do you say? You can get sued for calling her a liar. We believe all women in this country.
Any serious abortion law would have to say “no abortion, no matter what, period,” or else it would be filled with loopholes.
I guess the good news is that when girls hear this in the media, they will think it is impossible to have an abortion, and then not try. However, there are going to be all of these Jewish groups – backed by big corporate money – set up to tell them to call and they will figure out their abortion for them.