April 17, 2009
ICC’s pro-life agenda headed toward home stretch
By BRIGID CURTIS AYER (Indiana Catholic Conference)
With less than two weeks to go before the April 29 session adjournment deadline, the Indiana Catholic Conference’s (ICC) pro-life legislative agenda is headed toward the home stretch.
Physician admitting privileges
Several abortion-related bills supported by the ICC are moving forward, including a bill to hold abortion doctors accountable for the abortions they perform. SB 89 deals with physician admitting privileges. It passed the House Public Policy Committee 8-4, and is expected to pass the House.
“The purpose of the bill is to make sure that the doctor is available for follow up treatment if a woman has complications due to the abortion,” said Sen. Patricia Miller (R-Indianapolis), the bill’s author. The proposal allows abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at hospitals in the adjacent counties where the abortions are performed.
ICC supports SB 89.
Feticide
Also part of the ICC’s legislative agenda was a bill to enhance penalties for feticide. The Indiana House of Repre-sentatives unanimously passed a bill 96-0, April 6, to create harsher penalties for killing the unborn — a crime referred to as feticide.
Senate Bill 236 enhances the penalty from a Class C felony to a Class B felony which would increase the prison term from six to 20 years. A Class C felony is a prison term from two to eight years. A Class B felony is a prison term from six to 20 years.
Feticide is the deliberate killing of the fetus, except in an abortion. The primary focus of SB 236 provides for an enhanced penalty when pregnancy ends as a result of committing or attempting to commit a crime against the mother. The bill defines this crime as “termination of human pregnancy” and is consistent with current feticide statute and in the opinion of some, easier for prosecutors to argue in courts.
Rep. Mike Murphy (R-Indianapolis) House sponsor of the bill who has been a primary advocate for enhancing the penalty for feticide said, “This bill creates a measure of justice for families whose unborn children are murdered as a result of violent crimes.”
The Senate is likely to concur with the changes in SB 236 and the bill will go to the governor for signature before the end of the session.
Wrongful injury or death
The wrongful injury or death of a fetus, SB 341, will likely not pass this session unless it can be attached to anther bill in conference committee. The proposal passed the Senate, 47-2, but was not debated or voted on in the House due to amendments that attempted to extend the liability beyond a viable fetus, which is the intent of the bill. This bill applies to civil suits. Rep. Peggy Welch (D-Bloomington had hoped to bring the bill back but couldn’t get an agreement from lawmakers who wanted to amend the bill. The bill may be resurrected by being amended to a similar subject bill in conference committee.
The ICC supports the bill.
Study death row housing
A proposal to change the execution times and initiate a study of death row inmate housing, SB 296, passed the Senate 48-0. In its original form SB 296 would have forced death row inmates to move into another correctional facility where only solitary confinement cells were available. Because of the detrimental effects to the human person, the Church opposed this aspect of the bill. The ICC successfully worked to get the bill amended to study death row inmate housing rather than forcing inmates to move into solitary confinement for up to a decade or more prior to execution.
Scholarship tax credit
The school scholarship tax credit, SB 528, was amended into the budget bill, HB 1001, by the Senate Appropriations Committee April 9.
“This provides an excellent vehicle for passage this session,” said Glenn Tebbe, ICC Executive Director. “Because SB 528 did not get a hearing in the House the only way for it to pass was to have it become part of another bill,” said Tebbe. “Having a place within the budget is better than having to insert it during budget negotiations or working separately in another bill. We are very pleased with the Senate’s action,” said Tebbe.
ICC ‘hopeful’
House bills must be passed by the Senate and visa versa by the April 16 deadline to move forward. However, bills which have passed at least one chamber could be resurrected and amended into an existing bill with a similar subject during the conference committee phase beginning April 16. The Indiana General Assembly must pass a biennium budget and adjourn by Wed., April 29. The ICC is hopeful that many of the bills it has supported will pass this year.