Members of the Feminist Student Association wrote letters to state representatives Tuesday evening to urge them to deny passage of four bills that would limit reproductive rights in Indiana.
The event, Valentines to State Legislators, took place in Ballantine Hall and was part of a larger initiative by the Indiana Reproductive Justice Coalition, which is campaigning against House bills 1128 and 1134 and Senate bills 118, 404.
The Feminist Student Association’s General Action Committee chair, junior Morgan Bell, said picking one bill that is worse than the others is difficult, but S.B. 118 and S.B. 404 are especially concerning.
“Especially the extension to the 48-hour waiting period, which I think, shames women,” said Bell, referring to a provision in S.B. 118, which requires those who plan to abort a fetus to view and listen to an ultrasound days before the procedure.
According to the Indiana General Assembly website, S.B. 404 would require physicians performing abortions to inform the state about any procedures on women under age 16 and make any failure to do so an offense punishable by revocation of their physician’s license.
S.B. 118 would require women who were planning on aborting their fetus to listen to and view an ultrasound 48 hours prior to the procedure.
H.B. 1128 would require physicians to inform patients about to receive a chemical abortion, both in writing and orally, that the procedure was reversible or could be halted.
H.B. 1134 would repeal the statutes permitting and regulating abortion in Indiana, defining “human life” as beginning when a sperm cell fertilizes an egg. This redefinition is for purposes of the criminal code, which could mean common-law consequences for an abortion.
The letters will be hand-delivered by the IRJC to the state house in Indianapolis on Feb. 14.
Senior Carmen Vernon, Feminist Student Association president, said the proposed laws, in entirety, pose threats to the reproductive rights of varying groups.
“It’s hard to pick one because they all target different populations,” Vernon said.
Bell and Vernon agreed action at a local level is more effective. The group had an initiative earlier in the semester where they wrote postcards to the state’s senators, Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, and Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana.
The students spread the desks in the classroom into a circle to facilitate a more open conversation. They discussed last month’s Women’s March on Washington and its aftermath.
The march was not solely about reproductive rights, junior Margaret Hoffman, director of social affairs, said. If some pro-life groups thought they had been left out, there was nothing preventing them from attending.
Hoffman said telling women what do with their body was anti-woman, and the group agreed personal beliefs should not transfer to politics when it pertains to other people’s bodies.
The organizations advised participants to keep the letter brief, telling the state representative what actions should be taken and being respectful, which Vernon emphasized during the opening presentation.
The group provided construction paper and stencils to help those in attendance think outside the box, but there was also plain letter paper in case students wanted to write traditional letters, Vernon said.
“I’m going to make a broken heart and talk about how heartbroken I am about these bills,” Hoffman said.
