Armed with ballpoint pens, lined paper, stamped envelopes and righteous indignation, a small group of IU students hunched over tables in the Jordan atrium to take on the Indiana state government.
Freshman Hayley Kwasniewski put on a letter-writing campaign Tuesday to express disapproval of House Enrolled Act 1337, the controversial abortion bill recently passed by the Indiana legislature and signed by Gov. Mike Pence.
Among other regulations, the bill outlaws abortions that are based on sex, race and disability and requires medical providers to cremate or bury fetuses from abortions and miscarriages.
“It’s important legislators know people aren’t okay with these restrictions,” Kwasniewski said. “It’s not about moral beliefs. It’s about whose choice it its to make these decisions.”
Kwasniewski learned about HEA 1337 from a panel she attended at the Maurer School of Law. The panel, “Draconian Abortion Restrictions: What Do They Mean and What Can We Do?,” analyzed the new mandates of HEA 1337 and what they would mean for Hoosier women. Kwasniewski said learning about the bill made her passionate about taking action.
“I think it causes a lot of issues with women and the medical industry,” Kwasniewski said. “The requirements about disclosing why you’re getting an abortion could really erode the trust between women and their doctors.”
Freshman Mobeen Zahid helped Kwasniewski plan the event and research HEA 1337.
“I looked up the digest for the bill and broke it down into sections,” Zahid said. “Then I explained the ‘ulterior motives’ for each bit.”
Zahid and Kwasniewski printed out their analysis of the bill as well as a sample letter to help others with the letter-writing process.
Kwasniewski said preparing for the session taught her that many of the bills in government can be misleading.
“They aren’t everything they seem,” Kwasniewski said. “The bill has lots of hidden clauses you wouldn’t expect just from reading the title.”
Freshman Josh Hoffer, who learned about the event through Facebook, said he wrote to Pence because he wanted the female members of his family to be treated fairly.
“Anyone who has had women in their lives who they look up to should find this bill important,” Hoffer said.
As a human biology major, Hoffer said he was troubled by the portion of the bill that held doctors legally responsible for disposing of a fetus and for determining why a woman was pursuing an abortion.
“As someone who wants to be a future medical provider, it seems strange to me to hold doctors liable,” Hoffer said.
In his letter to Pence, he wrote about how HEA 1337 would affect poor women, he said.
“A lot of the time, these bills target people who are low-income,” Hoffer said.
Hoffer said the 18-hour wait limit for women to obtain an abortion would be difficult for women who can’t afford to take time off from work for the procedure.
He also wrote about the bill’s requirement to bury or cremate all miscarried fetuses.
“This hassle and red-tape for someone who already has gone through something terrible shouldn’t be present,” Hoffer said.
By the end of the letter-writing session, 12 people had written 22 letters.
