WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:51 — 13.7MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Last night, nearly 80 Bloomington residents stood on the front lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse to express their frustration with Indiana’s abortion ban. With signs held in the air saying, “Keep abortion legal”, residents mourned the loss of reproductive healthcare in Indiana.
The event, sponsored by Hoosier Jews for Choice, Indiana NOW Chapters, and MADVoters brought together Hoosiers, abortion activists, and politicians statewide. In total, seven vigils were held across the state in cities like Ft. Wayne and Valparaiso. Pro-choice Hoosiers are looking to make their voices heard as they prepare for Indiana’s abortion ban to take effect.
In 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling which made abortion legal nationally.
One month later, Indiana made waves as it became the first state to pass anti-abortion legislation. The bill made only a few exceptions including cases of rape and incest up to 10 weeks post-fertilization and fatal fetus abnormalities that threaten a mother’s life up to 20 weeks post-fertilization. But after one week of the bill being in effect, the ACLU of Indiana sued the state in two separate cases.
In June 2023, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled on the first lawsuit stating that Indiana’s abortion ban is constitutional. Under the ban, only licensed hospitals may perform an abortion. Places like Planned Parenthood will no longer be able to offer abortion services in the state.
It is unclear when the ban will take effect. The abortion ban was slated to take effect today, August 1, but has not been certified by the Indiana Supreme Court yet.
A second lawsuit was filed against the state on behalf of Hoosier Jews for Choice and five anonymous women. They argue SB 1 violates Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act by establishing a statewide religion which acknowledges life beginning at conception. If Indiana’s Supreme Court rules in favor of the lawsuit, women could apply for an abortion if they receive a religious exemption.
As of last night, there is no new information on the second lawsuit. Amalia Shifriss, a founding member of Hoosier Jews for Choice said they are currently awaiting their hearing which was moved from September of this year to December.
“We wish we had more of an update on the legal case. As a lot of you know, the injunction in the privacy law case was recently vacated, which is why the law is taking effect tomorrow. The injunction in the recent case is still standing. As of right now, we’re not sure because we were classified as a class action suit, but we’re not sure it just applies to plaintiffs and for anonymous plaintiffs, or if it applies to the whole class action, that’s what we’re not clear on,” said Shifriss.
Politicians from the city, county, and state level spoke at the vigil as well. Each provided updates on the work being done throughout Monroe County and the state to provide support for those seeking abortions.
The President and District 2 Representative for Bloomington’s Common Council, Sue Sgambelluri says the city is working to provide funds for an emergency reproductive grant program. The Common Council will also continue to support All-Options and Planned Parenthood.
“Defending women’s health means defending the access to abortion, not just in theory, but in reality. So how have we done that? In October 2022, we unanimously adopted appropriation ordinance 22-04. That appropriated funds for an emergency reproductive health care grant program of $100,000, specifically to address the impacts of Indiana’s near total abortion ban,” said Sgambelluri.
The President and District 3 Representative for the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, Penny Githens said Monroe County is supplying funds to All-Options and Planned Parenthood as well. The Monroe County government has expanded their health insurance to support employees who need to leave the state to receive an abortion.
“Like the city, we have supplied funding to All-Options and to Planned Parenthood, as well as through the Sophia Travis fund. At the county level, due to what the state has done with a municipal preemption law, we cannot enact our own legislation to allow abortions within the borders of our county. Our hands are tied. They’re tied when it comes to gun safety. They’re tied when it comes to abortion. They’re tied when it comes to school funding. They’re tied on so many levels […] Monroe County Government has expanded the health insurance coverage we offer to employees and to their families to help pay for travel to another state if someone wishes to have a safe, legal abortion,” said Githens.
40th District State Senator, Shelli Yoder said statehouse attorneys are unsure what will occur legally after SB 1 takes effect. As of now, state hospitals are responsible for upholding the ban. If an abortion is performed illegally, doctors could lose their medical licenses.
“We deserve to know what it means when SEA goes into effect. I made some calls and talked with our attorneys at the Statehouse. And I was told ‘Senator Yoder, it is completely unclear. We do not know. The only people who will be able to figure this out will be the hospitals.’ The very ones whose professions and livelihoods are being criminalized are holding whether or not abortion care will be accessed in the most extreme cases,” said Yoder.
All-Options also discussed the Hoosier Abortion Fund at last night’s vigil. Jess Marchbank, the State Program Director of All-Options says the abortion fund helps support and financially provide for Hoosiers who are looking to receive an out-of-state abortion.
“We are well equipped to help Hoosiers seek care in other states, and we can help pay for it. We don’t want people to feel like they don’t have options if they’re facing a pregnancy that they don’t want. If someone wants to just find out what their options are, if they’re pregnant, and in Indiana, they can call the Hoosier abortion fund or text at 812-727-4423. We even have an online application. All-Options will always be here to support Hoosiers and frankly, anyone who can get pregnant. Particularly we want Hoosiers to know that we’re going to be here to support them with diapers or with abortion funding or just with judgment-free support,” said Marchbank.
Community members in attendance expressed their concern and frustration with the passage of SB 1. One Bloomington resident said, “I mean, SB 1 is, like so many people said today, just an absolute affront to our democracy and to women’s rights and human rights and to healthcare. And I think it’s despicable. And honestly, our representatives who voted for this should be ashamed of themselves. But I think it’s important to remember that this is not the end, and that we have won this fight and we will win it again.”
Hoosiers locally and state-wide are continuing the fight for reproductive rights. State and local politicians such as Yoder are urging local residents to not lose faith and to make their voices heard at the polls.
“I know we are feeling like there’s a punch in the gut- to have to stand here today and come together once again, after fighting all of these years to get that right 50 years ago. But let us not fool ourselves. We’re not back where we started. We know what we have to do. And we will do it. A small minority put this bill into law. A majority of Hoosiers want access to abortion care, we can defeat this. We can. It is on each of us to educate our neighbors, our family members, and get them to the polls […] Choice is what democracy is built on. We cannot let this stand and we must continue to press on and make sure that SB 1 is defeated. So let’s get busy. Let’s keep our shoes on. Keep marching, keep mobilizing, keep organizing until it’s done,” said Yoder.
