Indiana Rep. Curt Nisly has promised to propose a new bill in January that would outlaw all abortions. The so-called “Protection at Conception” legislation would, in Nisly’s words, “treat the death of an unborn child like you would any other human being,” and mean prosecutors could file charges against anyone involved with the procedure.
“As an elected official, I will continue to support pro-life policies seeking to preserve the dignity of all human life and provide a voice for the voiceless,” Rep. Nisly told the Daily Dot in a statement.
Indiana already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, many implemented under Governor and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. It was under Pence that Purvi Patel was imprisoned for feticide after having a miscarriage, and he also signed a controversial law that banned the abortion of fetuses for reasons of gender, race, or diagnosis of genetic disorder, a bill so extreme that many Republicans even opposed it.
Anti-abortion activists in the state say they are inspired by Trump’s election—specifically, Trump’s promise that he would appoint anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court, despite a law like this being unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade. “You don’t know who is going to be there in five years,” executive director of Hoosiers for Life Amy Schlichter told the Indianapolis Star.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Planned Parenthood about the legality of such a bill, but hasn’t heard back as of this posting. Last year Oklahoma legislators passed SB 1552, which would have revoked the license of any doctor performing an abortion in the state, essentially banning the procedure in Oklahoma. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Mary Fallin.