A bill about assigning inmates by biological sex in prisons and a bill addressing abortion pills passed out of separate committees Wednesday.
Senate Bill 182 defines female, male, gender and sex for all Indiana statutes. The bill states that the Department of Correction has to assign an offender to a facility or program that is based on the inmate’s biological sex at birth.
The bill further states that a local health officer should mark the sex of an individual as male or female on a birth certificate. The bill would allow for amending a birth certificate for a medically verifiable disorder of sex development, external sex characteristics that are irrevocably ambiguous, chromosomal issues or both ovarian and testicular issues.
The bill was amended in the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee Wednesday to include public schools, including charter schools, to designate multi-occupancy restrooms and changing areas for the exclusive use of the male and female sexes.
The amendment also states public schools, including charter schools, can’t force students to share sleeping quarters with a member of the opposite sex, unless the students are family members.
State. Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, who authored the bill, said the main goal of the bill is to ensure that the Indiana Department of Correction “place men in men’s prisons and women in women’s prisons.”
“Which they are currently doing, but we are codifying that and clarifying the definitions,” Brown said.
Brown said that there are a variety of definitions of sex and gender throughout Indiana code, so the bill standardizes the definition across the codes.
In the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee, 24 people signed up to testify on the bill; the majority of people were against the bill.
Laura Hanford, with the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., said the bill defines sex accurately, ensures vital records are accurate and protects sex segregated spaces for incarcerated women.
“These three components are essential and they are intertwined,” Hanford said.
Erin Tuttle, a representative for Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, said the office supports the bill because if it passes, “we would be able to successfully defend it.”
Emma Vosicky, executive director of Gender Nexus, said the bill would “enshrine an ideology regarding sex, which doesn’t reflect medical science.” The bill doesn’t consider intersex individuals, she said.
“As a social services agency that works with gender diverse folks, Gender Nexus experiences day in and day out the reality that sex is beautifully complex and nuanced, and that allowing an amendment of a person’s sex marker on their birth certificate immeasurably benefits the individual,” Vosicky said.
Kit Malone, a political strategy consultant speaking on behalf of IYG, said the organization opposes the bill because it would prevent transgender Hoosiers from being able to update their birth certificates, which are used to update other identifying documents.
Bills that strip transgender individuals’ rights lead to harassment and abuse toward the transgender community, Malone said. Allowing transgender individuals to update their identification to match their identity keeps them safe and doesn’t harm anyone else, she said.
“We urge lawmakers to oppose Senate Bill 182 and to redirect the incredibly short time available in this session towards addressing the affordability crisis and other pressing issues that are already harming all families and communities across Indiana,” Malone said.
Senate Bill 182 passed 9-3. It moves forward for consideration by the Senate.
The Senate Judiciary committee heard Senate Bill 236, authored by State Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, that states a person who manufactures, distributes, mails, transports, delivers, prescribes or provides an abortion inducing drug is jointly and severally liable for the wrongful death of an unborn child or pregnant woman from using the drug and personal injury of an unborn child or pregnant woman from the use of the abortion-inducing drug.
The bill would allow the mother or father of an unborn child to bring a wrongful death action for the wrongful death of the unborn child from the use of abortion inducing drugs.
Further, the bill would require Terminated Pregnancy Reports to go to the Department of Health and the Attorney General’s Office, in part. The initial bill stated the reports would be made public, but the committee amended the bill to state the reports wouldn’t be public.
The bill also redefines abortion to be the “act of using or prescribing an instrument, a drug, a medicine, or any other substance, device or means with the intent to cause the death of an unborn child of a woman. The term does not include birth control devices or contraceptives. An act is not an abortion if the act is done with the intent to save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child, or remove a dead, unborn child whose death was caused by miscarriage or stillbirth, or remove an ectopic pregnancy.”
Johnson said he filed the bill to close “loopholes” in accessing abortion inducing drugs through the mail.
“One of the concerns is the mailing and shipping of chemical abortion inducing drugs for illegal term (abortion) across the state of Indiana, to homes and things like that. It’s really a difficult task to get at, and this is the approach that we’re taking,” Johnson said.
During the Senate Judiciary Committee, 17 people testified on the bill, the vast majority of whom opposed the bill.
Nicole Scott, a doctor who specializes in maternity care for Indiana University Health Obstetricians-Gynecologists Coleman Center, said she opposes the bill because it redefines abortion, which does not align with pregnancy complications, like hemorrhage or infection.
“What this bill does is it changes the definition of abortion and is in direct conflict with the Department of Health,” Scott said. “It further criminalizes and creates an incredible gray and muddy area, which is very dangerous and will cause more emergencies and catastrophes for women,” Scott said.
Scott said she believes it’s “inappropriate” for someone without medical experience, like the attorney general, to have access to the Terminated Pregnancy Reports.
Claire Stoll, a resident physician in obstetrics in Indianapolis, said bills like Senate Bill 236 create “uncertainty, chaos and confusion” as doctors try to care for their patients.
“At the very least, it can delay life-saving care, at the very worse it can lead to patients unnecessarily dying,” Stoll said.
Justin Heckel, the director of public affairs for UPS, said shipping organizations are concerned about potential liability for common carriers for transporting abortion inducing medication in Indiana.
“UPS has no practical or lawful way to determine whether any individual shipment follows into one of these allowable categories,” Heckel said.
Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates of Indiana issued a statement stating Senate Bill 236 will put a bounty on providers, pharmacists, manufacturers and private citizens who possess or distribute abortion medications. The bill would allow neighbors, unsupportive family members and abusive partners to bring a lawsuit if they believe someone would like an abortion, according to the statement.
“Ultimately, SB 236 will have a chilling effect on access to medication abortion in Indiana, even when care is legal for those who are entitled to abortion, like survivors of rape and incest,” said Haley Bougher, Indiana State Director for PPAA-IN, in the statement. “This bill is one of the most dangerous pregnancy policing bills we have seen at the state, and possibly across the country.”
Tuttle, who also testified in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the attorney general’s office would like access to Terminated Pregnancy Reports to monitor if illegal abortions have been performed.
“In most cases, the only time an illegal abortion ever comes to light is when these reports are filed. These reports are the only objective evidence that an abortion has occurred and how it occurred,” Tuttle said.
State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton, said he had “a lot of issues with this bill,” mainly the change in definition to abortion and allowing the attorney general access to the Terminated Pregnancy Reports.
“I don’t know how much further we can go down this road in this state and not just see just dire ramifications from it,” Pol said.
State Senator Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, said parts of the bill “should be done,” but “there are many parts of the bill that need work.” Glick suggested the bill be discussed in a summer study committee.
“I think the chilling effect that it has on medical professionals who are in that profession because they want to help people and help women in situations where they have dire consequences, both for themselves and their unborn child,” Glick said.
Brown, who also sits on the Senate Judiciary committee, said the “chilling effect” of the bill will be on providers who conduct abortions illegally and those who send abortion pills into Indiana.
“We’re a pro-life state. We’re always going to be a pro-life state as long as this legislature is the way it is today,” Brown said.
The bill passed 7-4, with Glick joining the three Democrats on the committee to oppose the bill.
akukulka@post-trib.com
