The law is to take effect in July this year, but an attempt to block the law before it takes effect is in the works by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
“It is clear that the governor is more comfortable practicing medicine without a license than behaving as a responsible lawyer, as he picks and chooses which constitutional rights are appropriate,” the group’s head, Betty Cockrum, said in a statement.
Governor Pence waited to almost the last minute to sign the law, leaving just hours before the deadline to take action had run out. The legislation was approved by the Republican-dominated legislature just a couple weeks ago, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Governor Pence called the bill “a comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of all human life.” He said in a statement, “I believe that a society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable — the aged, the infirm, the disabled and the unborn.”
In addition to banning abortions because of fetal genetic abnormalities, the law also bans abortions done because of a fetus’s race, sex or ancestry. The law stipulates that the only way to dispose of an aborted fetus is through burial or cremation.
The bill passed through the legislative process despite opposition from a national group of gynecologists and a number of female Republican members of the Indiana legislature, who complained the bill goes too far in telling women what they can and can’t do with their bodies.
“We know that you’re going to be forcing woman and families to suffer emotionally because they’re going to be forced to carry pregnancies that are not viable,” said Kate Connors, director of communications for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Pence has been a prominent voice in the Pro-life movement for a number of years. In 2012, while serving in Congress before becoming governor, he was given “perfect scores” by Indiana Right to Life (IRL) for his opposition to abortion.
“By signing the dignity for the unborn bill, Gov. Pence has again signified his commitment to protecting life,” Mike Fichter, president of IRL, said in a statement. “We are pleased that our state values life no matter an individual’s potential disability, gender or race.”
It’s unclear what the impact of this law will have on women seeking abortions because they can cite other reasons for wanting the procedure. It is also unclear what effect it will have on a woman’s health if she has to go through a difficult pregnancy that could pose a danger to her health. It seems a lot of questions were not addressed by the legislature.
