The state of Indiana has banned performing abortions over fetal genetic abnormalities like Down syndrome. Governor Mike Pence signed the bill and is now a law in the state.
According to the Daily Journal, the new law will take effect in July, prohibiting abortions due to a fetus' race, ancestry, sex. It has also been ordered that the only way to dispose an aborted fetus is through burial or cremation.
Governor Pence called the bill the comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of human life. He added that a society can be judged on how it deals with the most vulnerable and these are the aged, the infirm, the disabled and the unborn.
As reported by the Washington Times, the bill, however, has drawn a backlash from medical professionals and several female Republican members of the state's legislature. They said that the bill goes too far in telling women what they can and can't do.
The director of communications for the American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists, Kate Connors, said they know that the government will be forcing women and their families to suffer emotionally because they will be required to continue pregnancies even if they are not viable. Critics of the bill also said that it will require pregnant women to endure complicated pregnancies that pose dangers to their health as per The Daily Mail.
Governor Pence will be facing a tough re-election campaign against Democrat John Gregg which is expected to have a huge following due to his evangelical base. Gregg said that like the other policies put out by Pence, the new law does nothing but further damage the state's reputation and divide the people.
Under the new law, doctors who are perceived performing illegal abortions could face a suit for wrongful death or face discipline from the state medical licensing board. Women who committed abortion, on the other hand, will not be punished.
