House passes 2 abortion-related measures

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House passes 2 abortion-related measures

By Mary Beth Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, February 1, 2006

The Indiana House took aim at abortion tonight, passing one measure requiring women seeking to end a pregnancy to be informed that life begins at conception and another that could shut down abortion clinics in the state.

The House voted 70 to 30 to approve House Bill 1172, which defines life as beginning at conception and also requires women be told that a fetus may feel pain. The bill gives women the choice of having fetal anesthesia given to a fetus at least 20 weeks old. Women would be told pain medication cannot be given to a fetus earlier than that. Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, argued against the measure, saying: "Have we sunk to a new level of micromanagement?"

And Rep. John Ulmer, R-Goshen, said there is no scientific evidence when life begins, and said it was wrong to put religious beliefs into law.

But the bill's author, Rep. Tim Harris, R-Marion, described abortion procedures as horrific, and said he'd rather err on providing pain medication.

"I'm concerned for the woman," Harris said. "But I'm also concerned for the unborn child."

The House also voted 60 to 38 to approve House Bill 1080, which would require Indiana's nine abortion clinics to meet new state requirements, from the size of hallways to where the building entrance is located.

A bill passed last year by the legislature had required the state to regulate abortion clinics, but those rules grandfathered in existing clinics.

Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, made an impassioned plea to her colleagues to defeat the measure, saying it is normal procedure for an existing facility to be grandfathered in under state regulations.

Welch told the House she is "strongly pro-life, anti-abortion, whatever you want to call it."

But, she said, when she worked last year to put clinics under state regulation, she had given her word that the goal was not to close abortion clinics, as much as she would like to, but to ensure the safety of women. If House Bill 1080 became law, she said, it would cause the state's nine abortion clinics to face closure, likely causing a legal fight that would prevent any regulation of clinics from taking place for years.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Howe, said the intent is not to close clinics but to protect the health of women going to them.

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