A woman could legally obtain an abortion in the event of a lethal fetal illness — but would have to inform the state that she chose to terminate her pregnancy.
Doctors in Indiana are trying to decide how to handle a new law that will block women from seeking abortions based on medical diagnoses and how it could affect their patients.
Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, on Thursday signed the measure, set to take effect July 1, which bans abortions if, among other restrictions, a woman requests it “solely” because a fetus has Down syndrome or any other disorder. She could legally obtain an abortion in the event of a lethal fetal illness — but would have to inform the state that she chose to terminate her pregnancy.
Doctors, meanwhile, could face a wrongful-death lawsuit if it is learned that a woman told them she chose to end her pregnancy because of gender, disabilities or other reasons limited by the law.
Brownsyne Tucker-Edmonds, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Indianapolis, said Friday that the law could dissuade physicians from performing a legal medical procedure and, by doing so, imperil patients’ health.
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“It will require a woman, during one of the most devastating times in her life after learning of a fetal anomaly, to prolong her pregnancy even if against her wishes, and to potentially assume the greater health risks associated with doing so,” Tucker-Edmonds said. Some women have “cases in which the risk of death during a full-term pregnancy is more than 14 times higher than for a termination of pregnancy.”
Pence, who called the move “a comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of all human life,” supported the legislation despite pushback from Republican women in the Statehouse. Indiana currently outlaws abortions after 20 weeks, and the law adds a raft of new restrictions that abortion advocates call the nation’s most stringent.
Indiana is the second state (after North Dakota) to ban abortion because of a fetal anomaly. The new law also bars the procedure in instances where the choice stems from the fetus’ sex or race, restricts fetal-tissue donation and requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital or to have an agreement with a doctor who does. It makes Indiana the first state to require fetal remains to be buried or cremated. And it requires physicians to inform patients about perinatal hospice care, a service for women whose babies aren’t expected to survive outside the womb.
Hal Lawrence, chief executive of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the group, which represents roughly 30,000 doctors nationwide, strongly opposes the law because it could encourage a patient to withhold information from her doctor.
A woman who, for example, learned her fetus carried a severe disability may pursue an abortion from an out-of-state provider and then, out of fear, skip follow-up care from her regular doctor.
“She shouldn’t be under legal duress when she came back to where she lived,” said Lawrence, who practiced gynecology for 30 years. “Patients need postpartum or postoperative care. … Discouraging that is highly destructive.”
Betty Cokrum, head of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, suggested medical decisions should stay between doctors and patients. “It is clear the governor is more comfortable practicing medicine without a license,” she wrote, “than behaving as a responsible lawyer, as he picks and chooses which constitutional rights are appropriate.”
The organization also said it planned to challenge the measure in court.
Christina Francis, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Fort Wayne, Ind., who opposes abortion, said she believes the law will strengthen her relationships with patients.
“Too often, women learn their baby has Down syndrome and the first thing their physician tells them about is abortion,” Francis said. “To my patients, I’d say, ‘Yes, this is not what we were expecting — everyone wants to have a healthy child — but now, you know what? That child still has potential for a significant life.’”
That conversation, she said, could lead to increased follow-up care and a healthy mother and child.