INDems Response to U.S. Supreme Court’s Opinion to Overturn Roe v. Wade, 50-Year Precedent for Women’s Health Care

The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today issued the following statement by Vice-Chair Myla Eldridge after the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion which wiped away the 50-year precedent set by Roe v. Wade – establishing a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion, should she choose to have one: 

“My heart breaks today, because with the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion, a 50-year understanding and American-standard has been stripped away from women of all stripes, colors, and backgrounds. Generations of women for the first time will be forced to make dangerous decisions many of us thought we left in history books. And what horrifies me most, underprivileged women – especially Black and Brown Hoosiers in urban communities – will see their futures dashed or their lives be put at risk because the nation’s highest court backed a small minority over the large majority of Americans who want to keep living up to the foundations and freedoms of the United States. 

In Indiana, the days are now numbered to get a safe and legal abortion. And what scares me the most is the fact we have a state government who is ready to request that Governor Eric Holcomb call a special session and use taxpayer dollars just to ban this medical procedure in the state. It is unclear how extreme the Indiana Republican Party will go, but politicians like U.S. Senator Todd Young and State Representative John Jacob have signed pledges they wish for the state to enact a total ban on abortions – even in the cases of rape, incest, or saving the life of the mother. Should the Republican Supermajority go as extreme as many of us believe, they will be fulfilling a national partisan agenda that only 17-percent of Hoosiers support in this state. 

So I ask Indiana Republicans today: Do they really want to pass a complete ban on abortion – including for cases of rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother? 

This is the first time in our nation’s history that we’ve taken such a huge step back on personal freedom, and I am horrified about what other dominos will fall now that women will lose their rights to this legal and safe procedure. A woman’s right to contraception and birth control will be the next issue up for debate, and I fear the Indiana Republican Party will continue their crusade of violating the privacy rights of Hoosiers – because have repeatedly shown us they believe a Hoosier’s personal life should be subjected for approval by politicians – not doctors or medical professionals. 

The Indiana Democratic Party sides with the 83-percent of Hoosiers who believe access to abortions should be legal in some form. We side with the belief that it’s truly only a woman’s right to choose, and the belief that a politician has no business being in a doctor’s office with a woman and her doctor. And, Indiana Democrats will fight tooth and nail every step of the way against this form of dangerous and extreme partisanship. Democrats will show voters and families that the Indiana Republican Party is no longer the so-called ‘conservative’ party of decades past – but an extreme one who prioritizes an un-American, partisan agenda over creating a better future for families in all 92 counties.” 

– Myla Eldridge, Vice-Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party