Article 4, Abortion in Indiana
This past fall, we began a series of articles to take a wider view of abortion. We talked about what abortion really is and the ethical implications of it. The first three articles can be found here: https://lifecenters.com/life-centers-blog/. In this article, we want to talk about abortion in Indiana. We hope that these articles help you understand what is happening in a deeper way, and help you become a compassionate ambassador for life in your sphere of influence.
The Laws
Indiana often gets poor grades by groups that believe abortion restrictions are a violation of rights. Because of this, some people may believe that it is extremely limited by the law. The Indiana law actually allows for abortions anytime during pregnancy at certain medical facilities (ex. Eskenazi Hospital and Methodist Hospital) “based upon the professional, medical judgment of the pregnant woman’s physician.” While the statute does provide a framework that medical professionals must adhere to, the fact is that abortions after the fetal age of viability (defined as 20 weeks up to birth) do happen annually in Indiana at acute care hospitals.
The majority of abortions in Indiana occur not in hospitals, but in clinics. These free standing clinics have physician staff, but are not acute care hospitals, and are limited to first trimester (13 weeks) abortions. These abortions are legal for any reason as long as the woman is 18 years of age and gives consent, or if under 18 with parental consent.
The Trends and Numbers
The latest official numbers on abortion are from 2018 (they usually are published mid-year). In 2018, there were 8,037 abortions in Indiana, an increase over the previous 3 years. One thing to note is that this number probably does not capture all of the Indiana residents who had abortions. Illinois has some of the most progressive abortion laws and we hear that many women from Indiana seek out later abortions by simply crossing the state line. Of the 8,037 abortions, 98% of them were first trimester abortions in free standing clinics. Of these clinics, the location at 86th and Georgetown in Indianapolis is the most prolific, performing 35% to 50% of the abortions that occur in our state. Roughly half of all the first trimester abortions in Indiana are now via medication induced abortion.
How Life Centers Impacts
There is good news in the midst of all of these sad numbers. Life Centers is making an impact on lives – one, two, and whole families at a time. Last year, we saw 7,579 women and babies and were a part of 1,810 births. Volunteers at Life Centers contributed more than 17,000 hours to be part of many stories of changed lives and new life in our clients. Life Centers has put a renewed focus on developing relationships with our clients through support services (diapers, clothing, toys, wipes, baby furniture, etc.), client classes, abortion recovery, and a lot of other expressions of love and compassion. Because of that, many women are choosing to visit and refer others to us rather than the abortion clinics. This shift in traffic has caused many of these local abortion clinics to close over the last five years. Wouldn’t it be great if all of the abortion clinics in Indiana had to close simply because women chose not to get abortions?
Life Centers is not involved in political movements or the legal process. Our focus is ministry and care for those who are facing pregnancy-related decisions with hope that they choose life. If you want to get involved in helping to show love and compassion that saves lives, visit our volunteer page. Thank you for taking the time to read this article.
(Photo of Life Centers clients)
References for further reading:
https://www.in.gov/isdh/files/2018%20Indiana%20Terminated%20Pregnancy%20Report.pdf
http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2019/ic/titles/016/#16-34-2-1