Lawmaker aims to stamp out abortion [View All]

Looks like the theocrates are making their move in Indiana


By Bill Ruthhart and Mary Beth Schneider
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com
Abortion would be outlawed in Indiana unless necessary to preserve the life and health of the mother under a bill filed today by Rep. Troy Woodruff, R-Vincennes.


The measure, House Bill 1096, would define life as beginning at conception, and make it a

Class C felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison, to perform an abortion. There would be no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
Woodruff said he thinks the bill would pass the legislature overwhelmingly if put to a vote. If the abortion ban becomes law, he said it could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court as a possible venue to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe versus Wade case, which legalized abortion.

Also today, the House Roads and Transportation Committee approved a bill that would create an "In God We Trust" license plate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Woody Burton, R-Greenwood, who said he has at least 1,000 petitions requesting the new license plate.

Last year, the bill was approved in the House, but failed to receive a hearing in the Senate. Burton said he was more encouraged this year because Senate President Pro Tempore Robert D. Garton told him the bill would get a hearing this time around.

The roads and transportation committee passed the measure by a 7-1 vote.

The House Judiciary Committee also met this morning and established a subcommittee to explore the details of a bill that would prevent notes of sympathy or apology from being used in a lawsuit, including medical malpractice. That bill is sponsored by Ralph Foley, R-Martinsville.