Indiana’s Sex-Selective Abortion Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court recently ruled that an Indiana law banning abortion on the basis of race, gender, or disability of the fetus is unconstitutional.

Though proposed legislation might lead one to believe that sex-selective abortion bans are necessary, they are in fact based on an inaccurate, racist assumption that Asian American women prefer sons to daughters. A 2014 report from the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) found these assumptions to be completely unfounded; Chinese, Korean, and Indian American women are actually having more female babies than white Americans.

Supporters of sex-selective abortion bans like Vice President Pence, who signed Indiana’s ban into law in 2016 during his time as governor, claim to be focused on the safety and well-being of babies and women. However, sex-selective abortion bans are just another type of legislation utilized to restrict access to abortion and take away bodily autonomy. Lawmakers have utilized misinformation and blatant racism for decades in their efforts to pass increasingly restrictive abortion laws.

Current U.S. laws and the priorities of the Trump administration already make it more difficult for women of color to access the reproductive care they need and deserve. Attacks on Planned Parenthood, the attempted rollback of the Affordable Care Act, and the constant restriction of abortion access all disproportionately affect non-white women. Furthermore, the Hyde Amendment has prevented federal funds from covering abortion care since 1976, meaning that millions of low-income women cannot access the reproductive healthcare they may need.

Though reproductive rights are being attacked constantly and in increasingly creative ways, the recent ruling by the U.S. Seventh Circuit is encouraging. Perhaps sham laws based on falsehoods are beginning to be seen for what they are: thinly veiled, often racist attempts to shame women and restrict access to reproductive healthcare. Instead of attacking the abortion access of vulnerable communities, lawmakers should focus instead on requiring appropriate, comprehensive sex education rather than abstinence-only education, something that has been proven to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies.

Women Help Women believes that all people should have access to medically and scientifically accurate information surrounding all aspects of abortion and contraception and believes women should have agency over their own reproductive choices. Our organization provides accurate information about what exactly a medical abortion with pills is, the pills’ effectiveness, how to use the pills, and what to expect after using abortion pills. If you are pregnant and do not want to be, get in touch with us online at www.womenhelp.org or by email at info@womenhelp.org.