House Committee To Hear Testimony On Abortion Bill This Morning
- By Zachary Roberts, TheStatehouseFile.com
Public testimony on Senate Bill 1, which provides for a ban on abortion with exceptions only for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother, will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday before the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee.
The Indiana House of Representatives held a brief session Monday afternoon to assign the bill to the committee, which will hear public testimony in the House Chamber.
Vote results regarding a motion authored by Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington on Monday were 25 Yea and 68 Nay.
Also during Monday’s session, Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, tried to pass a motion to reject the bill upon its arrival from the Senate, which narrowly passed the bill Saturday afternoon. Pierce’s motion was rejected in a 25-68 vote.
“There are some bills that are just such bad public policy and are just not ready for prime time,†Pierce said, noting that the Senate passed the bill despite none of its members expressing full support for it, including the author, Sen. Sue Glick R-LaGrange, who repeatedly referred to the bill as a “vehicle bill†that would likely be amended in the House. Pierce suggested that the House defer action until the January session.
Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, said it was important for lawmakers to act now, and urged the House to deny Pierce’s motion to reject the bill.
“Bring your issues and we will debate those,†said Lehman. “It (SB 1) needs to go through the process.â€
Members of the public who want to testify before the committee in person should sign up prior to the start of the meeting online or in person. The form to sign up to testify in person is available here starting at 12:00 a.m. Tuesday.
Individuals who sign up online must check in at a table outside the House Chamber. Check-in and in-person sign-up will begin at 8:00 a.m.
The committee will receive written testimony for anyone not able to testify in person and it should be sent to SB1@iga.in.gov. Written testimony will be accepted until 1:00 p.m. Tuesday.
FOOTNOTE: Â Zachary Roberts is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.Â
