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LEAGUE DAY AT THE STATE HOUSE
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Go HERE to register!
PLAN AHEAD: Make appointments with your legislators now! If possible, make your appointments in the morning.
WHAT’S NEXT? We will schedule a ZOOM session to announce LWVIN legislative priorities, the keynote speaker, and table talk topics, as well as answer your questions about League Day.
IMPORTANT DATES
The Indiana General Assembly will reconvene on Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Bill filing deadlines: Senate, January 9, 4:00 p.m. House: January 14, 2:00 p.m.
Swearing in of Governor/Lt. Governor: January 13
State of the Judiciary: January 29, 2:00 p.m.
State of the State: January 29, 7:00 p.m.
This event is made possible by the Special Events Committee.
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ÉRA COALITION RESPONSE TO NATIONAL ARCHIVES REFUSAL TO CERTIFY THE ERA
On Tuesday, December 16, national archivist Coleen Shogan and her deputy William J. Bosanko issued a statement saying that the Equal Rights Amendment “cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial and procedural decisions.” Read the ERA COALITION response HERE.
We need to continue to urge President Biden to do everything he can to publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. Call (202) 456-1111 and text (302) 404-0880 the White House and demand that the ERA becomes reality.
We need you and your friends to call and text the White House EVERY DAY.
You can also email the White House to let President Biden know you want this done before his term ends.
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THE CURRENT STATE OF REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
(resource links to words in BOLD are at the bottom of the article)
ABORTION RIGHTS WERE A MAJOR ISSUE IN THE 2024 ELECTION
Harris took a strong stance on abortion access, and Trump was forced to make statements against a national ban on abortion, including abortion drugs. Through a massive effort, volunteers in 10 states got enough signatures to get Constitutional amendments on the ballot, and 7 of these measures succeeded.
In Indiana, on December 10 the ACLU reported that the Indiana Supreme Court declined to hear the lawsuit they filed in 2022 on behalf of Hoosier Jews for Choice and a number of individuals. The case has been sent back to the trial court.
31 STATES DON’T RESTRICT ACCESS UP TO 20 WEEKS OR MORE POST-ELECTION
We know that Indiana has very strict abortion laws, but 2 adjoining states do not. ABC News reported that Illinois allows abortions up until fetal viability, considered between 24 and 26 weeks' gestation. Ohio as of December allows abortion up to 21 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy. This same article lists abortion laws in all the states post-election.
According to Sofia Resnick of News from the States, pro-abortion ballot measures passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York. The good news is that thousands of volunteers made this happen, and state by state details are available in Resnick’s article. Unfortunately, such direct democracy initiatives are not legal in Indiana.
NATIONAL ABORTION OR ABORTION PILL BANS
Jessica Valenti published a good question and answer Substack column on November 9, 2024 entitled “What Happens Under a National Ban? and Other Post-2024 Questions.”
If a national abortion ban is enacted by Congress and signed into law, every state would have to comply. It could be a total ban based on “fetal personhood,” a 15-week ban or anything in between. There is also always the possibility that the Supreme Court would overrule it, since they have already ruled that this decision is up to the states.
Another big threat is to medication abortion, which involves two pills – Mifepristone followed by Misoprostol up to 48 hours later. 63% of abortions are done using the two pills. Misoprostol has other uses (including to reduce the risk of stomach ulcers and for miscarriages). Mifepristone is used for first trimester abortions up to 70 days, but can also be used for other evidence based indications.
The fate of Mifepristone is tied to what Trump and the new FDA Commissioner decide to do. If FDA reverses its approval of Mifepristone, medication abortions can continue with just Misoprostol, but they are only effective 85-95% of the time and can have some unpleasant side effects according to Planned Parenthood. Trump has named Marty Makary, who has a history of support for abortion restrictions, as his choice for the FDA. However, according to FOX59, in recent interviews with both Time and Meet the Press, Trump has said “it was very 'unlikely' that the FDA would revoke access to the abortion pill.”
On December 13 the Texas Attorney General sued a physician in New York for mailing medication abortion drugs to a Texas resident. According to the New York Times, "Under shield laws, states like New York will refuse to cooperate with attempts by other states to prosecute or sue abortion providers who prescribe and send pills across state lines. Such laws exist in eight states and have allowed doctors there to send more than 10,000 abortion pills per month to women in states with bans." This will end up in the courts.
If you or someone you know needs abortion medication now or wants to have pills on hand for the future, contact Aid Access,Plan C Pills,Abortion Finder, or I Need an A.
BIRTH CONTROL ACCESS
Opill, the first FDA-approved over-the-counter counter birth control pill, is available nation-wide at pharmacies, convenience stores, and grocery stores. By STATE LAW, Indiana pharmacists with the proper training can prescribe and dispense contraceptive hormonal patches and pills to those at least 18 of age. Planned Parenthood is also of course a great source.
But reducing birth control availability remains a tactic for anti-abortion activists. They try to erode access for teenagers to hormonal birth control by saying they are dangerous to their development; by working to expand ‘conscience clause’ laws, and by cutting state programs for affordable birth control.
GIVING TO ORGANIZATIONS HAS DECLINED GREATLY IN TWO YEARS – WE NEED TO DONATE:
Planned Parenthood https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-great-northwest-hawaii-alaska-indiana-kentuck
PPAllianceAdvocates https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-alliance-advocates/about-us
Midwest Action Coalition https://www.midwestaccesscoalition.org/donate
All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center https://alloptionsprc.org/
BRAUN’S HEALTH CARE PLAN
Indiana Public Radio announced that Braun’s health care plan includes ideas on how to confront the state’s high infant and maternal mortality by increasing access to obstetrics services in rural areas. He wants the Indiana Graduate Medicaid Education fund to prioritize rural training placements for obstetrics, or OB, providers and “other high-need positions” to address workforce shortages in rural areas. He advocates for establishing new training programs for OB and family medicine OB, as well as midwives (since currently there is no state program that trains midwives).Unfortunately, one of the organizations that Braun works closely with is HOPE, based in Terre Haute.The VP of HOPE is Scott Schnedier, a former Indiana State Senator who authored or co-authored bills to fully defund Planned Parenthood. The Secretary and Treasurer is attorney James Bopp Jr., who has served as General Counsel for the National Right to Life Committee and former Vice Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
We have heard that some Indiana Health Departments are concerned that the funding put in place under Governor Holcomb’s Health First Indiana Plan (HFIP) will be cut or eliminated. This funding, among other things, was directed towards improving maternal-child health. Every county signed on to it and cutting this plan this could seriously disrupt health delivery services already in place.
ISSUES WE ARE FOLLOWING:
Pam Locker (LWVIN), Cathy Rountree and Pam Raider (Brown County League), Amy Mickschl and Joanne Evers (Greater Lafayette League), Bri Glidden (Muncie Delaware County League), Betsy Kachmar (Fort Wayne League) all contributed to this article.For the 2025 legislative session we are following bills in these areas: abortion, contraception, maternal and infant health, medical student training, lactation, insurance coverage for doula care, gender issues, paid leave, and women’s health bills in other areas as they are filed.
Go HERE to read a report by Amy Mickschl on the impact of the IN abortion ban on IU Medical School students and HERE for an update by Joanne Evers on LGBTQ+ issues.
2025 BILLS IN THE WORKS
Senator Yoder is filing another repeal of SB 1 and is working with ACOG on legislation. She will be looking out for language creating barriers to birth control, as well as supporting Senator Hunley who is carrying on the work of Sen. Breaux to require Medicaid reimbursements for doulas. She is also filing a tax free period products bill.
Representative Errington is drafting a medically accurate comprehensive sex ed bill, a bill requiring insurance companies to authorize 12 months of birth control pills with one prescription, free period products in middle school and high school, and a resolution to allow ballot initiatives.
Representative Chris Campbell and State Senator Rodney Pol, both Democrats plan to introduce a family medical leave bill in their respective Houses. They are still looking for Republican co-authors.
If you are aware of possible upcoming Women’s Health bills, please let us know about them. You can email us at lwvin.womenshealthadvocates@gmail.com to inform us of bills or to get on our mailing list.
To get on the Voter Services list, email voterservicelwvin@gmail.com requesting to be added. Include your full name, local League name, and email address.)
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LWV 2024-2026 IMPACT ON ISSUES
Go HERE to download this latest edition. It is designed to help League members use LWVUS public policy positions effectively at the national, state, local, and regional levels of government. The intention is to inspire Leagues to use national positions to advocate, litigate, educate, and take action to ensure accountability at all levels and in all branches of government. It contains League policy on Representative Government, International Relations, Natural Resources, and Social Policy. |
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Angel Island Immigration Station in 1910. Photo courtesy Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
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A comic that appeared in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper in 1882, following the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Public domain.
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Lee Puey You in 1939 at age 23, the year her detention at Angel Island began. Photo courtesy National Archives and Records Administration-Pacific Region
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FORGOTTEN FOREMOTHERS
Profiles of lesser-known heroines in the fight for women's rights
LEE PUEY YOU
Lee Puey You was born in the Guangdong Province of China around 1916. For her story, we have largely a single source in writer and historian Judy Yung, and as you’ll see, the details of the story unfolded with time. That, too, is part of Lee Puey You’s story.
But before we hear from her, we must understand the circumstances that demanded Lee Puey You’s careful words.
The Opium Wars battered China throughout the mid-1800s, leading to widespread poverty, famine, and dwindling opportunities to remedy a hard life. Meanwhile, on the coast of the United States, people discovered gold in the hills. With obvious prosperity flowing overseas, hundreds of thousands of Chinese men and women made the journey to California for the Gold Rush of 1848. The Transcontinental Railroad went into construction in 1863 and in this enterprise Chinese immigrants found another path for money and stability. At its height, a full 90 percent of the workforce building the railroads were Chinese. Money earned usually went to family back in China, hoping to alleviate the difficult circumstances left behind.
The expanding Chinese population and their apparent success was met with legislative and physical violence. The Los Angeles Massacre of 1871, for example, saw 500 white and Latino Americans assaulting the small Chinese population of the city. The immigration of Chinese women was narrowed by the Page Act of 1875; then, in 1882, the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited the immigration of all Chinese laborers. The passage of this act was following by a “driving out” period, marked by several incidents of white laborers robbing and murdering Chinese workers with little to no response from law enforcement. The Chinese, after all, were not supposed to be here anymore.
You can read this entire article HERE.
Kathryn S Gardiner
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The Chinese detainees carved poetry into the walls at Angel Island Immigration Station. Photo credit: Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
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Lee Puey You with husband Fred Gin in 1953. Photo courtesy Debbie Gin.
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Pam Locker, Editor, LWVIN Voter
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