Reproductive Justice is Racial Justice

The state of Texas recently implemented the most extreme attack on reproductive freedom by banning abortion before most people even know they are pregnant, and unleashing hordes of anti-abortion bounty hunters to enforce the draconian law.

Following implementation of Texas' new cruel anti-abortion law, anti-choice extremist politicians in the Indiana General Assembly have openly discussed implementing a similar law in our state.

Let’s be clear:

• Abortion is legal in Indiana.
• Abortion is safe in Indiana.
• Abortion is a right in Indiana.

Roe v. Wade and the legal right to abortion are important but not enough. We need much more than legality.

For nearly five decades, anti-abortion lawmakers have used restrictions like the Hyde Amendment and medically unnecessary state laws to push abortion care out of reach for people struggling to make ends meet. Again and again, these restrictions disproportionately impact people of color, young people, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ folks, and those who live in rural areas.

In Indiana, anti-abortion politicians have passed numerous medically unnecessary and politically-motivated restrictions, creating a web of barriers that push safe and affordable abortion care out of reach for many Hoosiers.

Reproductive health care, including abortion, should be regulated by medical experts – not by politicians with political agendas.

All Hoosiers deserve equal access to abortion, but extreme legislative restrictions have chipped away at people’s access to safe, reliable reproductive health care.

We know that the ramifications of restricting abortion access fall particularly on people of color and people with low incomes, who are disproportionately prosecuted in instances where abortion is criminalized.

Additionally, due to racism and structural inequality, people of color have not had equal access to health care – including abortion, prenatal care, and preventive care. Their concerns are also often ignored or not taken seriously.

Forcing people to carry pregnancies to term against their will is both cruel and dangerous. Across the country, Black people experience higher rates of infant mortality and pregnancy-related deaths.

Reproductive justice means your access to abortion shouldn't depend on who you are, where you live, or how much money you make.

Racial justice and reproductive freedom must go hand in hand because everyone should be able to access the abortion care they need, without burden, obstacles, or stigma.

The ACLU of Indiana and others will continue to fight against the assault on access to abortion. We will monitor actions in the General Assembly and we will use all means at our disposal – in the courts and on the streets – wherever and whenever the constitutional rights of individuals are in jeopardy.

A majority of Hoosiers do not support abortion bans. A YouGov poll conducted this year found 53% of Hoosiers say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Politicians have no place interfering with individuals’ personal reproductive health care decisions.

TAKE ACTION: Tell legislative leadership that Hoosiers want to keep our reproductive freedom.