New bill sparks protest and controversy
Indiana recently passed new abortion legislation that further restricts women’s reproductive rights in the state. What Governor Mike Pence is calling a “comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of all human life,” is being regarded by women as a gross infringement of their rights.
The new bill bans any abortions related to the race or gender of the fetus as well as abortions due to genetic abnormalities and any other disabilities. A second stipulation of the bill requires that any fetal remains, whether from a miscarriage or an abortion, be buried or cremated. Fetal remains can no longer be classified as medical waste as they are in most states.
Concerns about this bill stem from fear that requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains places an unwarranted cost on a woman who is already facing a difficult situation. Elizabeth Nash, a senior state issues associate at Guttmacher Institute, condemned the bill before it had even been passed, stating, “It’s pretty obvious that this is a tactic used to make women feel badly about their decision to terminate the pregnancy.”
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…further restricts women’s reproductive rights…[/pullquote]
Perhaps more vocally, women are also expressing concern that any period could be a potential miscarriage without a woman’s knowledge. In protest, pro-choice activists have taken to calling Governor Pence’s office with detailed descriptions of their periods.
“I would certainly hate for any of my fellow Hoosier women to be at risk of penalty if they do not ‘properly dispose’ of this or report it. Just to cover our bases, perhaps we should make sure to contact Governor Pence’s office to report our periods,” says the anonymous founder of the Periods for Pence Facebook page. The page, where women can post their highly detailed calls to the governor’s office, had over 34,000 likes as of April 8, 2016. Calls range from comprehensive accounts of cramping, to reports on tampons and flow. One caller told the governor’s office, “[…] I need to get a message to the governor that I am on day three of my period. My flow seems abnormally heavy, but my cramps are much better […]”
Interestingly, this is not the first campaign of its kind. When Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed a bill requiring women to have a consultation a day before having an abortion, Kentucky women started #askbevinaboutmyvag.
In addition to these clever calls and a slew of tweets from all over the country, activists have planned a protest outside the Indiana Statehouse. One of the organizers of the rally admits that a demonstration of this nature will not be likely to change the governor’s mind about the bill, but she persists that “he cannot hide in his ivory tower and pretend everything is OK because it’s not […] I don’t know if it will change anything, but at least it gives people a voice.”
The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood have said they plan to sue the state over the new law.