Thread by @ElizNash

People keep asking me about abortion access in Indiana under then-Governor Pence. There’s a lot to cover, so here we go →

To start with, Indiana is one of 6 states considered *VERY* hostile toward abortion rights. That’s a big deal (think about how many bad bills have been enacted in recent years—Indiana is still more hostile than 44 states).
guttmacher.org/article/2019/0…

Indiana has passed 63 abortion restrictions since Roe was decided in 1973—that’s the second highest number of restrictions in the US (Louisiana leads all states with 89).
interactives.guttmacher.org/abortion-restr…

While Indiana has a long record of attacking abortion rights and reproductive health broadly, during then-Governor Pence’s tenure from 2013-2016, the attacks intensified and have had lasting harms.
guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/sta…

Between 2013-2016, then-Governor Pence signed TWENTY abortion restrictions, many of which are still inflicting harm on pregnant people in Indiana today. Here’s a recap of just some of those laws:

2013: 📝S 371, which among other things, prohibits the use of telehealth for medication abortion and forces a provider to perform an ultrasound even when not medically necessary before an abortion (In effect since 7/1/2013).

2014: 📝H 1123, drastically limited abortion coverage in health plans, including ACA marketplace plans to cases of life endangerment, rape, incest, or when there is a severe health condition (In effect since 1/1/2015).

2014: 📝S 292, which among other things, requires the state to inspect abortion clinics at least once a year—this type of requirement can be used to harass clinics by constantly requiring inspections (In effect since 7/1/2014).

2015: 📝S 329, established politically-motivated regulations for fetal tissue disposal at odds with normal medical practices and intended to make it hard to keep clinic doors open. (In effect starting 7/1/2015).

2016: 📝H 1337, the two worst parts of this bill are that it requires physicians to interrogate patients about their reason for wanting an abortion (not in effect due court action) & it made the fetal tissue burial law more extreme (in effect since Sept 2019, but case ongoing).

Let's talk about the enormous scope of these laws: There are 1,294,000 women of reproductive age in Indiana (age 15-44). 96% of Indiana counties had no abortion clinics, and 70% of Indiana women lived in those counties (2017 data).

Everybody deserves safe, supportive and compassionate abortion care without political interference. The fact that Indiana has enacted 63 anti-abortion laws in 47 years shows that this is about control—not the health and well-being of Hoosiers.