Editor’s note: Our news-gathering partners at WISH-TV News 8 contributed to this story.
The Indiana Democratic Party held a press conference at the Statehouse to provide an update on the state of the 2022 elections in Indiana. The press conference follows the passage of what Democrats say is a harmful abortion ban in Indiana, effective on Sept. 15.
Multiple Democratic candidates on Tuesday said they will push for a repeal of Indiana’s new abortion ban if elected.
Their comments came days after Republican Governor Eric Holcomb signed legislation Friday that bans all abortions in the state with limited exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities or serious physical risk to the mother.
The abortion ban drew very little public comment in support during the special session that ended Friday night. Supporters of abortion rights said the measure was too restrictive while anti-abortion groups said it didn’t go far enough.
Candidates Victoria Garcia Wilburn and Jocelyn Vare said Tuesday they would settle for returning Indiana law to its current status, which allows abortion for any reason up to 20 weeks.
Victoria Garcia Wilburn is the Democratic candidate for the recently redrawn House District 32. Jocelyn Vare is both a member of the Fishers City Council and the Democratic candidate for State Senate District 31.
“This last week, like so many other Hoosiers, I followed the special session closely,” Wilburn said. “I listened to testimony upon testimony, the overwhelming majority of which opposed the passage of Senate Bill 1. From the Republican supermajority, I heard responses that were void of compassion, empathy and science. And immediately following the Governor’s signature, we heard from two of the state’s top employers – Eli Lilly & Company and Cummins – speaking out against this bill and indicating that it will cause them to grow outside of our State.”
Vare also spoke about the GOP supermajority as bearing the responsibility for the effects of this new law.
I know my district and I know our community,” Vare said. “I know Hoosiers and I know Hoosier women. I serve them. I listen to them. Every voice. Every vote. In this house, a Supermajority rules Indiana. Therefore, they are solely responsible for all bad legislation that is concocted here. Hoosiers, we are here today because we are dismayed by the Supermajority’s new abortion ban that controls and humiliates the women in our state.”
Wilburn said she is concerned this new law will further endanger an already strained Hoosier healthcare system.
“As a healthcare provider and community researcher, I know all too well that our state is operating from a deficit when it comes to helping families, when it comes to caring for pregnant women, when it comes to providing healthcare to our infants, when it comes to offering enriching childcare opportunities across our state … we are nowhere near prepared to handle the onslaught of societal harms and tragic health outcomes that will be the result of Senate Bill 1,” Wilburn said.
Asked on Friday whether he was concerned the abortion ban could backfire on Republicans in November, House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican from Fishers, said if voters are displeased, they will have the opportunity to act on their frustrations.
Democrats on Tuesday said they were confident they could use the abortion issue to break the supermajorities Republicans currently hold in both Indiana legislative chambers.
“You don’t have to be a Democrat to vote for a Democrat,” Vare said. “You just need to believe that Indiana is better when lawmakers chose to listen to the voice of voters. Without more Democrats in the Statehouse, the Supermajority will continue to choose to ignore you.”
Vare told The Reporter she thinks Hamilton County could be a key area if Democrats are to gain enough ground to influence state policy.
“It is important to note that the Indiana Democratic Party featured two Hamilton County Democratic candidates at this statewide press conference,” Vare told The Reporter. “Victoria Garcia Wilburn and I are running Statehouse races to represent Hamilton County and are considered top Democratic candidates in Indiana. In the entire state, Hamilton County is where several Democratic candidates have a strong potential for election victories. The 2022 midterm election could prove for the first time that Hamilton County is no longer dominated by the Republican Party.”