Children forced to carry their rapist’s child, women dying from complications with their pregnancies, and unwanted children being born only to be forgotten in the already overcrowded foster system. When thinking about this reality, a life that women in the U.S. only endured hundreds of years ago comes to mind, but thanks to Governor Eric Holcomb and 62 members of the Indiana House, this will become an unfortunate reality for many living in Indiana.

Senate Bill 1 (SB1), which goes into effect September 15th, is a near total abortion ban– the first of its kind since the fall of Roe v. Wade. SB1 prohibits abortion at any stage of gestation except in cases of fatal fetal anomalies, when the pregnant person’s life comes into risk, rape, and incest. These exceptions are only accepted for up to the 10th week. For reference, most women only realize they’re pregnant around the fourth-seventh week. Additionally, the bill terminates Planned Parenthood’s license to perform abortion procedures and makes performing an abortion without license or outside of guidelines a level 5 felony (The second highest level felony in Indiana).

What Holcomb vowed to protect wasn’t life. What he vowed was to approve what may be the biggest backslide in human rights in recent history. The bill he signed will inevitably cause the deaths of hundreds upon hundreds of women– completely preventable deaths. The bill he signed will cause numerous young girls, some barely tall enough to ride a rollercoaster, the trauma of childbirth. 

My heart bleeds for the people of this state. Under no circumstances should the government, the ones we voted to give us the best, create and sign a bill that could never lead to such. There are no words for the terror that courses through so many in anticipation of the day their rights are set to be stripped away. One should never feel the need to leave the only home they’ve ever known, and yet because of the erroneous actions of few, many do.

Though there’s not much that can be done, still nothing is set in stone. They can take our rights to healthcare, to an equal chance at life, but haven’t stripped us of free will. Your voice can still be heard. Join protests. Make protests of your own. Protest like your life depends on it, because in the end it might just. 

Resources: 

Know Your Rights: Protester’s Rights

STUDENTS’ FREE SPEECH RIGHTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS