Status: 06.08.2022 09:24
In Indiana, abortions will only be legal after rape, incest and if there are health risks. The US state is the first to pass such a law after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Indiana’s legislature has passed an almost total ban on abortion. Indiana is the first state to pass a new law with tougher rules following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on abortion.
Only legal in a few exceptions
It only allows abortions in exceptional cases: after rape, in cases of incest, when the fetus is not viable or there is a serious health risk for the mother. The Republican-dominated Senate passed the bill by a vote of 28 to 19.
Republican Gov. Eric Holscomb said careful consideration had been given to which exemptions should apply. These would take into account the “unimaginable circumstances that a woman or an unborn child can face”. The law is scheduled to come into force on September 15.
Supreme Court: States can enact bans
At the end of June, the US Supreme Court overturned a landmark ruling that had guaranteed the right to abortion in the US Constitution for almost 50 years. Since this right is no longer protected by federal law, the states can now enact sweeping restrictions and prohibitions.
Numerous republican states are therefore preparing restrictive abortion laws. The result of the Supreme Court ruling is also a patchwork of regulations.
majority for abortion rights
If you ask the citizens, however, a different picture emerges – even in conservative countries. A referendum in Kansas recently showed that the existing right to abortion will not be abolished. In nationwide polls, a clear majority of about 60 percent of Americans are in favor of abortion being generally legal.