Jennifer McCormick, Indiana’s Democratic candidate for governor, outlined her plan to increase access to abortion and reproductive healthcare in Indiana in a press release Thursday.
The plan includes a series of executive actions that would clarify abortion regulations by interpreting existing laws to maximize abortion access, prioritizing reproductive health funding in the state budget and focusing on compliance assistance rather than enforcement for providers. It also includes appointing supporters of abortion access to relevant positions in state government and reinforcing the privacy of individual medical records.
McCormick said she will “use the governor’s office as a platform to defend abortion rights and inform Hoosiers of their reproductive freedoms,” according to the press release.
McCormick also plans to introduce ballot initiatives for Indiana residents to vote directly on state abortion policy. Eleven abortion-related measures are on ballots in 10 states in 2024; 10 of these measures would provide a constitutional right to abortion in their respective states. Indiana, however, does not include any abortion-related measures on its ballot.
“Jennifer McCormick’s campaign is focused on restoring balance and common sense to Indiana’s government, and protecting women's rights is at the heart of that mission,” the press release concludes.
The press release said Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun and his running mate, Micah Beckwith, support an abortion ban with no exceptions, even in cases of rape, incest or risk to the life of the mother.
While Braun has not officially released a plan for abortion, he has repeatedly expressed support for restrictions on abortion, including in an interview in 2021 in which Braun said he would like to “eliminate abortion from the landscape” if possible and would be “perfectly comfortable” with figuring out how to enforce an abortion ban at the state level.
Braun also stated his support for the 2023 Indiana Supreme Court ruling on state abortion restrictions and said in the Oct. 2 and 3 gubernatorial debates that Indiana has “a bill that works for Hoosiers.”
Indiana currently has in place a near-total ban on abortions, with exceptions within 10 weeks of fertilization in cases of rape or incest, or within 20 weeks of fertilization in case of fatal fetal anomalies or significant danger to the health or life of the mother. Abortions cannot be administered by abortion clinics, only hospitals or licensed outpatient ambulatory surgical centers, and must be reported to the Indiana Department of Health by the provider. The abortion pill Mifepristone cannot be used after eight weeks.
McCormick has spoken out about abortion and reproductive healthcare before. In September, McCormick called Indiana’s abortion policy “extreme” and expressed concern for contraceptive access under a Braun administration. In gubernatorial debates on Oct. 2 and 3, McCormick said she supported overturning Indiana’s near-total ban on abortion.
McCormick’s campaign website affirms support for increased maternal health service, contraceptive methods and care and in vitro fertilization treatments in Indiana and says she will work toward a constitutional amendment that increases access to abortion.
A July 2024 poll by Our Choice Coalition found that 58% of 1,275 registered voters who responded believe Indiana’s current abortion laws are too restrictive, and 80% of respondents opposed a total ban on the use of the abortion pill Mifepristone.
