Eyes are on what Indiana’s next move will be to limit abortion in the state in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion leak this month that would strike down Roe v. Wade.
State lawmakers representing Johnson County, all Republicans, are on board with the state legislature possibly returning this summer for a special session, if Roe v. Wade is officially overturned. They declined to go into detail on what potential legislation would look like, including how far it would go to restrict or ban access to abortion in the state, though.
“Indiana is a pro-life state … it is very likely we will return (this summer),” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said.
The decision to call a special session for the legislature lies in the hands of Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has the executive power to call lawmakers back into session. In March, before the leaked draft came out, 100 Republican lawmakers, including all senators and representatives from Johnson County, signed a letter calling on Holcomb to call a special legislative session, if Roe v. Wade was struck down this summer.
Holcomb has said he is considering the option of calling a special session, but he would not make a final decision until an official ruling from the Court is released.
A final decision in the case could come in late June or early July. At that time, it is possible that the justices’ final votes and decision may change.
Bray is supportive of the Supreme Court ruling that abortion is a state issue, he said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised the Supreme Court kicked this issue back to the states,” he said.
Lawmakers are awaiting a final decision before acting because there are unknowns on what the Supreme Court could rule in the end. Bray dispelled the possibility of the legislature returning beforehand to enact a so-called “trigger law” that would be enacted to restrict abortion the moment Roe is overturned.
Thirteen states already have trigger laws which would automatically ban abortion if the Supreme Court rules the decision should be left to the states.
Discussions about passing a trigger law came up during the 2022 regular legislative session, but lawmakers decided that was not a direction they wanted to go without a final ruling from the Supreme Court. Crafting legislation beforehand seemed impossible to do right, Bray said.
With that, Bray could not speak to the details of what a potential abortion law in Indiana could look like. He said options are on the table for legislation to be similar to the challenged Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy to an all-out ban. Exceptions to cases of rape or incest will also be “really important parts of the discussion,” he said.
Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, is “looking forward to taking further action,” she said. She declined to speculate what she would like to see in potential legislation to ban or restrict abortions.
“I would support definitely anything that we can do to save lives and protect babies and moms as well,” Davis said.
Rep. John Young, R-Franklin, wants to be cautious on speculating about potential legislation because the leaked draft is not final, he said.
“I just think we need to be very careful about simply assuming that that draft is really going to be what the new law may be,” Young said.
Young said many different scenarios should be considered when looking at offering exceptions in a potential law, and he also said he would like to research what Indiana’s abortion laws were prior to Roe v. Wade.
Young added that he disagreed with the Supreme Court “legislating from the bench” on the abortion issue in the first place.
Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, said in an interview with The Republic this month that he is “pro-life” and that he also has long disagreed with the Roe v. Wade decision, pointing to other laws that he says bar personal choices.
“I think there are a lot of federal laws that one might argue are all about personal autonomy, such as illicit drug use or, I mean, you can make a laundry list of things that are a personal decision that may or may not impact others, that there’s no legal precedent that says that you get to control your own body,” Walker told The Republic. “…I still don’t believe in personal autonomy when actions affect the life of another.”
No matter what the final ruling entails, Bray noted this this will be a contentious issue for lawmakers to address. He said they will fully vet legislation by hearing from members of the public on both sides of the issue.
