FISHERS, Ind. — Republican State Sen. Kyle Walker is among the first Republicans to publicly announce they oppose an all-out abortion ban for Indiana.
Walker, who represents Fishers and part of Lawrence, said he opposes a first-trimester ban and supports exceptions in certain cases.
“With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I believe we must strike a balance for pregnant women to make their own health decisions in the first trimester of pregnancy and also provide protections for an unborn baby as it progresses toward viability outside the womb, while making exceptions for rape, incest, health of the mother and cases of fatal fetal anomaly,” Walker said.
NOTE: The above video is from a previous report on new abortion restrictions in Indiana.
Current Indiana law allows for abortions up to 20 weeks. Walker does support shortening that to 12-15 weeks.
“In the past several weeks I’ve had mothers and fathers share their heart-wrenching stories with me, and I firmly believe we should not force a mother to carry a baby to term that her doctor knows won’t live outside the womb," Walker said. "In some cases, an early delivery is the only way the parents are able to spend a few minutes with their baby while he or she is still alive.”
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Walker said he supports increasing funding and resources for women during pregnancy and after the birth of their child, as well as expanding the Safe Haven Baby Box program, increasing the adoption tax credit and expanding access to birth control and emergency contraception.
“This is one of the most defining votes I’ll cast and I wanted to share my position with constituents in advance,” Walker said.
The state senator opposes requiring rape or incest victims to file a police report, which he said he believes further victimizes the woman. He also opposes criminal penalties for health professionals and mothers.
Walker's viewpoints show just how divided the Republican party is on the issue. Others have told 13News they would only support a complete ban with no exceptions.
“Human life begins at conception,” said Rep. John Jacob, R-District 93, a born-again Christian who said religious beliefs aside, biology also supports that belief.
“Abortion, since it takes the life of an innocent little pre-born human being, that would always be murder and so, therefore, rape, incest, life of the mother, those exceptions would not be acceptable,” Jacob said, adding that he supported the protection at conception bill authored by Rep. Curt Nisly, R-District 22.
Nisly's proposed law would have banned all abortions in Indiana, with no exceptions.
A special session is slated for July 25 to take up the abortion issue and a possible tax refund. Republicans plan to detail proposed legislation for the special session during a news conference Wednesday at 3 p.m. 13News will stream that announcement live on our digital platforms.