Proposed bills would tighten abortion laws

Two bills imposing tighter laws on abortion were approved by the Public Policy and Veterans Affairs Committee in the Indiana House of Representatives. \nHouse Bill 1172 says doctors must tell women that life begins at conception and the fetus might feel pain during an abortion. The other, HB 1080, defines new health regulations for abortion clinics, which some say might close many clinics.\nTo become laws, both of these bills must be approved by the full House by Thursday so they can proceed to the Senate for approval.\nRep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, who is anti-abortion, said she is unsure of how she will vote for the bill that says a fetus might feel pain during an abortion. She said this would become part of Indiana's informed consent law, which requires doctors to tell women certain information 18 hours before an abortion procedure.\n"It does not restrict abortion in any way," she said.\nDoctors have conflicting opinions regarding whether a fetus feels pain during an abortion, she said. Welch said she plans to get more information by calling doctors before she decides how to vote.\nBut Rep. Bob Kuzman, D-Crown Point, the ranking minority member of the Public Policy and Veterans Affairs Committee, said the bill is giving women inaccurate information. He said he voted against the bill in large part because the committee heard no testimony from medical experts. \nThe bill also requires doctors to tell women they have the option of giving the fetus a painkiller before they have an abortion.\nSupporters said the bill could reduce the number of abortions, but Rep. Matt Whetstone, R-Brownsburg, said it could go either way. Telling women life begins at conception would probably reduce the number of abortions, he said. But implying a fetus will not feel pain because of the painkiller could make more women have abortions, he said.\nThe other abortion-related bill, which sets new regulations for abortion clinics, is similar to a bill that passed last year. The only difference is the old bill did not make existing clinics follow the new guidelines unless they moved or renovated, Welch said. \nIf the bill passes, abortion clinics that have not met the regulation standards set forth in the bill by Jan. 1, 2007, must close down. \nWelch said forcing existing clinics to follow the new regulations would go against the standard operating procedure of the Indiana State Department of Health and said it was why she couldn't vote for the new bill in its existing form. "I trust the Department of Health," she said. "If there is a sub-standard clinic, they will find a way to hold that clinic accountable."\nThe anti-abortion group advocated the new regulations because it was unhappy with the ones created by the Indiana Department of Health, Kuzman said. He is not opposed to adequate health standards, he said, but that is not the point of this bill.\n"The real intent of the legislation is to shut the clinics down," Kuzman said.