INDIANAPOLIS — Thursday was a day of advocacy for organizations pushing the state of Indiana to overturn the near total abortion ban.
Groups gathered at the statehouse six months after the ban was put in place. The ban is something they are worried could become more restrictive in the future.
“Five anti-abortion bills introduced, five anti-LGBT bills introduced, 10 bills addressing reproductive and maternal health dead without a hearing,” Haley Bougher, the Indiana State Director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said.
One anti-abortion bill that was introduced would have banned the mediation used to induce an abortion, another would have granted personhood to a fetus.
Those bills died, along with others that were more progressive.
Some would have increasing Medicaid reimbursements for OBGYN and post-natal care, granted rights to pregnant women in the workplace and required contraceptives to be covered by insurance.
The authors of the bills that were more progressive took part in the say of the advocacy to discuss their bills and say they will continue to fight for reproductive rights.
Since the abortion ban has been in effect, Planned Parenthood has been seeing lots of changes.
“Folks that still don’t realize there is a ban and what that actually means for them,” Bougher said. “They don’t realize they can’t access that healthcare, then they are in a state of panic. We have folks that want to become pregnant but are scared about what those consequences could look like for them if they have some sort of fetal abnormality.”
Because of that fear, Planned Parenthood says it has seen an increase in both men and women seeking long term birth control options. That is why they are adding vasectomies to the services they offer.
"We have had a demand for vasectomy services down here in Indianapolis,” Kalila Weiner, the Health Center Manager for Planned Parenthood in Indianapolis, said. “We have heard our patients, and we are expanding those services.”
Even Douala's have changed the kind of education they are providing.
They typically counsel women on birthing techniques. Now, Doulas, like Joslyn Cunningham, with Blissful Birthing Doula Services, have been changing course.
"There is more training than just what is birth,” Cunningham said. “We are going back to how do we count menstrual cycles because the overturn of Roe V. Wade opened up all these privacy concerns over period tracking apps."
There was a bill filed by Democratic Senator Shelli Yoder which would have restored abortion access in Indiana.
She had a republican co-author senator Vaneta Becker, but the bill didn't receive a hearing.
