Friday, March 25, 2016

New anti-abortion bill in Indiana

The article, The Crazy New Ways Indiana Will Restrict Abortion, talks about the new anti-abortion law that will greatly affect women. Governor Mike Pence signed this bill into law that will place even more restrictions on abortion, even though Indiana tightly regulates abortion already. The legislation prohibits women from having an abortion based on the fetuses' gender and also prohibits women from having an abortion based on the fetus having genetic abnormalities, such as Down Syndrome, etc. This legislation also places strict regulations on abortion doctors, requiring them to obtain "admitting privileges." It also requires for the remains of a miscarriage or an abortion to be buried or cremated and does not allow for the donation of fetal tissue, which is used for medical research. Indiana has even charged women for "feticide laws" for allegedly harming their unborn babies, in which major health groups oppose because it deters women from seeking medical attention based on the arrest of pregnant women who seek to not have their baby. It even amazes me that these "fetal homicide" laws are put in place to punish women who end up having miscarriages or stillbirths. I am not aware of the statistics of miscarriages or stillbirths that occur, but I thought most miscarriages and stillbirths happen unexpectedly and are not planned. I'm interested in researching more into it. A close relative of mine had a miscarriage unexpected and it would outrage me if she charged under a feticide law that made it out for her to be a murderer. How do political figures have the authority and power to restrict such harsh laws on women? I watched this show called Born This Way, which is about adults with Down Syndrome. During an episode, one of the mothers brought up the topic on how they debated getting an abortion when their doctor told her that her child had Down Syndrome. I'm not saying it's right or wrong if this mother chose to have the abortion or not due to her child's genetic abnormalities, but I strongly believe women should have the right to choose.

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