Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Condemns Indiana Governor for Passing Total Abortion Ban
Indiana is the first state to ban abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Indianapolis, IN — Last night, anti-choice Republican Governor Eric Holcomb signed Indiana’s total ban on abortion into law (SB 1). The draconian ban made its way to the governor’s desk after passing through the Republican-led Indiana Legislature. By enacting this law, Indiana has become the first state to ban abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement in response:
“Governor Holcomb and every single anti-choice extremist who had a hand in enacting this cruel ban have put their utter disregard for their constituents on full display. This law is a brazen attack on reproductive freedom that will block millions of Hoosiers from being able to make their own decisions about their lives, families, and futures. It’s unacceptable—and it’s only the beginning of the coming onslaught of bans that awaits now that the Supreme Court has given the green light for these extremists to make their dystopian vision a reality.”
Governor Eric Holcomb’s efforts to strip Hoosiers of their freedom to decide couldn’t be more out of touch with the values of Indiana voters. New polling from Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates shows that 71% of Hoosiers say it is important that people in their state have access to all reproductive health care options, including abortion. In 2020, Holcomb was one of several Republican governors to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to attack reproductive freedom and ban abortion. He also signed a 2018 law that would have burdened those who have an abortion and medical providers with invasive and unnecessary reporting requirements. That law was struck down by a federal judge who ruled it unconstitutional.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the legal right to abortion in our country as we know it. Following this decision, Indiana was the first state to call a special session to ban abortion. Now that this cruel ban has been signed into law, Indiana has become one of 14 states enforcing bans on abortion. In total, roughly half of the states in the country are risk of or are already banning abortion. The people hurt most by these bans and restrictions are those who already face barriers to accessing abortion care—including women; Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; those working to make ends meet; the LGBTQ+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and people with disabilities.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.