'No respect for life': Monroe County lawmakers, candidates discuss July 25 special session

Rima Shahid, CEO of Women4Change, said she has found it hard to grapple with how people’s ability to make decisions about their bodies is even a discussion. Individual theology is now restricting Americans’ freedom, she said, and this is the first time an established right has been taken away. As a mother of three kids, she worries how the overturn of Roe v. Wade will affect them, and their children.

“It’s as un-American as anything could be, because we’re founded on these principles, now so-called principles, of equality and justice and freedom,” she said. “So many people came here because of those now broken promises.”

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Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb called for a special session to begin July 6, which Republican lawmakers asked to postpone until July 25. Lawmakers could enact new, restrictive abortion legislation for Hoosiers.

David Henry, chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party, said Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton is sponsoring a bus to take people to the “Bans Off” Indiana Rally at the Statehouse on July 25 for the start of the special session.

“This is not just a feminist issue or pregnant women's issue,” he said. “This is an everybody issue.”

Henry spoke of the rally during a recent panel discussion that included current Indiana lawmakers and candidates speaking about the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Former state Sen. Vi Simpson, who is 76 years old, moderated one panel and said from her experience fighting for abortion rights before Roe v. Wade, the fight will be a marathon.

“I’m really ticked off about having to do this again,” she said. “I’ve done this before and I know what I’m talking about. It’s not one and done.”

State Representative for District 61 Matt Pierce said when the special session was postponed to July 25, Holcomb did not issue a new proclamation. This means that while lawmakers are not required to report to the Statehouse yet, they are already in session. Special sessions have a 40 calendar day limit, which is already ticking, Pierce said.

Once the Legislature is in session, it can handle any topics it wants, Pierce said, regardless of why the governor called it. State Sen. Shelli Yoder said the Legislature is planning to discuss tax refund and abortion restriction bills. They are expected to move through the different chambers at the same time, she said, and the session must be reported by Aug. 14.

The session delay means Democratic legislators will have less time to see the language of the abortion restriction bill, which Republicans hope will give them less time to combat it, Yoder said. In addition to the lawmakers’ tactics, Holcomb has signed every piece of anti-abortion legislation during his time in office, according to the IndyStar, and has stated he has no “red lines” when it comes to abortion limits in Indiana.

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“It should be making each of us very angry that we have a governor who said ‘I’ll sign anything that comes before me restricting abortion access’ without knowing what it’s going to say,” she said. “It’s atrocious.”

Republicans are trying to get party members on the same page before the public session, Pierce said. Within the party, Republicans have different perspectives on the abortion issue, he explained. Some want abortion to be illegal in every circumstance, some want exceptions for extraneous situations and a small minority believe in the right to choose, he said.

“The anti-abortion legislators see the world in the caricatures that the anti-abortion people have built up,” he said. “So (they believe) it’s women seeking an abortion because it’s convenient, because it’s another form of birth control. It’s because they have no respect for life.”

Pierce thinks there will be a few exceptions for abortion in the proposed legislation, but it won’t be meaningful. Some Republicans, Pierce said, might claim that organizations like Planned Parenthood would falsely say a mother's health is at risk to legally justify an abortion, so lawmakers won’t want to include an exception.

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Candidate for Indiana House District 32 Victoria Garcia Wilburn said abortion restrictions will be a slippery slope for healthcare providers who must follow the practices of their state. She worries about what’s next for those providers.

“This is not a place for political discussion,” she said. “Abortion is health care.”

If the language of the bill for abortion restriction is too vague, Pierce said, healthcare providers could argue that since they don’t know where the legal line is, the Indiana law is unconstitutional. Other legal options include arguing abortion restrictions violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act or state constitutions.

Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration has deemed abortion medications safe and effective, Pierce said, so a lawsuit could be brought if states try to prevent pregnant people from receiving them. States do not have the power to override the FDA, he said, under the Supremacy Clause, meaning federal law takes precedence over state laws.

Candidate for Indiana House District 62 Penny Githens said Article 1, Section 23 of the Indiana Constitution guarantees equal rights to all citizens. When it comes to abortion, in the event of further restrictions, the government will be creating second-class citizens for those who cannot access or cannot afford abortion care.

MCDP Vice Chair Shruti Rana said Hoosiers have a window of opportunity until the Legislature meets on July 25. When overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decided the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, established in 1868, does not apply to abortion access, Rana said. People must fight state by state to restore abortion rights, she said.

“Over half of our country are now denied equal citizenship under the law, and many more are at risk,” she said. “The justices have no qualms about setting our Constitution or our rights on fire.”

Michelle Dahl, a community activist and founder of Michelle’s Little Free Pantry Inc., said as a minority woman in her community, she had to find her people in Asian American, Pacific Islander and LGBTQ+ spaces. With discussions about reproductive justice, she said, everyone must focus on what they can do and finding their support system.

“We need these spaces to be able to talk about things freely,” she said. “And know that we can trust each other.”

To advocate for abortion rights, citizens should contact their representatives, support elected officials who do fight for those rights and even think about running for office, as too many seats are unopposed, Shahid said.

“We can all be activists in different ways,” Dahl said. “Find where you’re comfortable.”

Reach Luzane Draughon at ldraughon@gannett.com or @luzdraughon on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana July 25 special session to discuss abortion restrictions