Abortion Legislation Progresses in the 2022 Special Session
The Indiana Special Session began on July 25, starting with a hearing on Senate Bill 1 (SB1), the primary abortion bill. After several hours of testimony on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, only a fraction of the total witnesses signed up to testify were called upon. The Indiana Catholic Conference was unable to testify publicly during the committee hearing, but the Church’s position has been communicated to legislators. In addition, the Bishops of Indiana outlined the guiding principles for abortion legislation in a letter released last week.
SB1 as it stands is a step in the right direction, but still needs improvement in order to provide meaningful protection for preborn children. Most importantly, the bill needs stronger enforcement mechanisms and a continued tightening of the language around exceptions. After passing the Senate committee, the bill now moves to the Senate floor for amendments and further debate.
While the ICC is encouraging legislators to strengthen the law as it moves through the amendment process, we recognize the need for a bill to further protect preborn children and keep women safe. Even if the final bill is imperfect according to the Church’s moral teaching, we can legitimately support an incrementally better law without tiring in our commitment to improve it (see Evangelium Vitae #73). For a complete description of SB1 and to support the ICC’s efforts to improve it, check out our action alert.
Senate Bill 2 and 3 (SB2 and SB3) as well as House Bill 1001 (HB1001) are also being considered during this special session. These bills deal with increasing funding for women and families and providing some measure of inflation relief to Hoosiers. The ICC is also interested in each of these bills and their potential to positively impact healthcare, low-income families, childcare, foster and adoptive families, and pregnancy resource centers. For a more complete description of these bills, check out our action alert.
Each of these bills now move to the floor of their respective chamber where amendments will be offered. Each bill is then expected to face a final vote on Friday, July 29 before moving to the opposite chamber.