Indiana Abortion Opponents Press For County Ordinances To Limit Access

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 19 Aug 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Abortion-rights opponents in Indiana recently have been seeking county ordinances to require doctors who perform the procedure to have admitting privileges at a local hospital after efforts to enact statewide legislation stalled, the AP/WHAS reports. Supporters of the measures said the regulations are needed to protect the health of abortion clinic patients, but abortion providers said they restrict access to abortions.

The Vanderburgh County, Ind., Board of Commissioners earlier this month passed a measure that requires doctors performing abortions to have hospital admitting privileges in the county or an adjacent county. In addition, the measure requires physicians to inform the patient of where follow-up care can be received for any possible complications. Advocates are seeking similar legislation in Allen County, Ind., where the Fort Wayne Women's Health Organization abortion clinic operates. According to the AP/WHAS, the Indiana Senate has passed bills similar to the ordinances during the last two legislative sessions, but the legislation did not clear the House.

Mike Fichter, president and CEO of Indiana Right to Life, said antiabortion advocates are "taking the different approach of talking to counties" to avoid the "roadblock in the House." Although Vanderburgh County does not have an abortion clinic, Fichter said the newly passed ordinance is a "victory" for antiabortion advocates because it now will be harder for an abortion clinic to be established in that area.

According to the AP/WHAS, some physicians who provide abortions in the state practice at multiple facilities and might not have admitting privileges near all of the clinics. "Putting new barriers in place and creating new hardships is not the answer," Betty Cockrum, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, said, adding that the rate of complications after abortions is less than half the rate of complications after full-term births. According to state Health Department data, the last woman to die from an abortion-related complication in Indiana was in 1979.

State Sen. Patricia Miller (R), who has introduced the legislation in previous sessions, said she has asked legislative staff to draft a similar bill for the 2009 session (Kusmer, AP/WHAS, 8/14).

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