Holcomb signs measure requiring doctors to report abortion complications

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a measure Sunday requiring doctors to report abortion complications, even if they don't work in an abortion clinic.

Senate Enrolled Act 340 requires doctors to annually report to the state 26 listed complications associated with abortions, including infections and cardiac arrest as well as psychological or emotional issues such as sleeping disorders and anxiety.

The measure also requires annual inspections of abortion clinics and legalizes the use of "baby boxes" in fire departments, which allow a parent to give up an infant anonymously and without fear of penalty.

Opponents of SEA 340 said the abortion complication reporting requirements are overly burdensome and view the law as the state's latest attempt to restrict abortion access.

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Rep. Sue Errington, D-Muncie, wondered why the same state requirements are not required for other medical care.

"It seems to me that this is an attempt to make this appear like a dangerous procedure, and it's not," Errington said.

Martinsville Rep. Peggy Mayfield, the Republican who carried the bill, said the legislation is necessary for health purposes because the state is the only group providing oversight of abortions.

Holcomb said the bill's language is commonplace in other states.

“This bill does what 27 other states have done to gather information on these procedures without restricting access to them," Holcomb said in a statement.

During debate in the General Assembly, Democrats warned that lawmakers could be walking into another lawsuit.

Indiana paid the American Civil Liberties Union over $170,000 in 2013 and nearly $123,000 in 2015 in legal fees for similar cases related to abortion legislation that was found unconstitutional, according to a Legislative Services Agency analysis.

Several other abortion cases are still pending in the courts, including one challenging a 2016 law signed by former Gov. Mike Pence. That measure prohibited women from getting an abortion simply because the fetus has a disability.

Another pending case questions the abortion law Holcomb signed last year, which made it more challenging for minors to seek an abortion.

"It’s like groundhog day," Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, said during a debate on the House floor. "Year after year, the same thing happens."

The measure also drew opposition from the Indiana Academy of Family Physicians.

Richard Feldman, a family physician and the group's legislative chairman, said the bill's reporting requirements went too far and could create barriers in the doctor-patient relationship, even for physicians who don't perform abortions.

"We opposed this bill and felt compliance was onerous for physicians, especially in light of non-compliance being treated as a criminal violation including jail time," he said. "Further, the list of complications is astonishingly long and many are inappropriate in regard to current standards of care, research value, clinical relevance, or reasonable time frames for patient contact."

Holcomb also signed a measure Sunday that allows those who kill a fetus in a crime to be charged with murder, regardless of the age of the fetus.

That provision doesn't apply to abortions. However, anti-abortion groups claim the law as a victory because it gives some measure of legal acknowledgement to a fetus.

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Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at (317) 432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.

Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.