Suzette Hackney

suzette.hackney@indystar.com

How dare you, Gov. Mike Pence?

How dare you play politics with the reproductive rights of Indiana’s female population? How dare you purport to know what’s best for Hoosier women who have to make the painful, deeply personal decision to seek an abortion?

How dare you ignore the Constitution you are sworn to uphold?

On Thursday, Pence signed an expanded abortion law that prohibits a woman from seeking an abortion solely because her fetus could be born with a disability such as Down syndrome. It also bans a woman from terminating a pregnancy solely because of the gender or race of the fetus. The measures further restrict abortion in Indiana, already one of the most restrictive states in the nation.

The expansive law includes other new regulations, such as a requirement for the remains of aborted or miscarried fetuses to be interred or cremated. That’s right; women who have already been shredded by a miscarriage or abortion must now make funeral arrangements for their unborn fetuses. I wish I was making this up.

It’s no surprise that Pence signed this constitutionally questionable legislation. After all, this is the same individual who while in Congress waged war against Planned Parenthood, attempting to strip the organization of all federal funding because it provides abortion services. He’s been laying his oppressive groundwork for years.

Pence signs new abortion restrictions into law with a prayer

The governor has again plopped Indiana into the middle of a heated national debate about social issues. I’m all for being out front and on show, but Pence’s sanctimonious governance has once more made Indiana look embarrassingly regressive and intolerant.

Last March, Pence quietly signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, legislation that many feared would allow discrimination against gay and transsexual Hoosiers. Similarly, Pence this past week signed the abortion law behind closed doors. Is he ashamed of his actions? Why does he retreat when signing away the rights of his constituents?

Pence, who knows he has fallen out of favor around the state, is certainly courting the conservative voting bloc to save his political career.

This time, he’s doing it at the expense of women in the state.

“By enacting this legislation, we take an important step in protecting the unborn, while still providing an exception for the life of the mother. I sign this legislation with a prayer that God would continue to bless these precious children, mothers and families,” Pence said in a statement after signing the law.

If Pence really felt strongly about protecting children, mothers and families, he would challenge the General Assembly to write laws that better fund family-planning services. He would support Planned Parenthood’s efforts to provide women with affordable contraception. After all, decreasing the number of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies decreases the number of abortions women seek.

Reproduction rights should not be used as a political prop, Gov. Pence. How dare you throw your weight around simply because you can? How dare you disrespect the women of this state?

Just as you said a prayer when you signed that heinous legislation into law, I pray for you, Gov. Pence. I pray that you find it in your heart to stop playing politics and begin representing the people of Indiana in an honorable fashion.

Email IndyStar columnist Suzette Hackney at suzette.hackney@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @suzyscribe.

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