Lunch With League Tackles Abortion Issues

The League of Women Voters invites everyone to Lunch with the League in its new location in Fusion 54, 3rd Floor, at noon on Friday. Lunch with the League programs are for public information sharing, and there is no charge.  Bring your own brown bag lunch and join others to learn about important public concerns.  This month we focus on a health concern.

On Aug. 5, 2022, a woman’s right to make a private healthcare decision previously guaranteed by the U.S. Supreme Court under Roe v. Wade was banned by the Indiana legislature, with certain narrow exceptions. Abortion, choice, right to life, adoption, birth control are all terms with which we are familiar, yet we may not have a good grasp on what is allowed and what is not allowed.  

Navigating the law in choosing whether to terminate a pregnancy or in offering medical advice to a pregnant patient wishing to know her options in Indiana can be difficult and frustrating. Preventing a pregnancy also raises a number of issues. How is birth control chosen? What type of birth control is available or not available in our county? How is birth control funded? Birth control options vary and may or may not have the intended outcome . . . to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. If abortion is not available, and a child is carried to term, the availability of resources can be an issue. How is a woman with no resources able to care for an unplanned child? Is adoption an option?

Friday’s Lunch with the League will attempt to untangle Indiana’s law banning abortions, the current status of this law and the healthcare and social implications arising from the new law. A panel of law, health care and public health professionals will speak to these issues. The panel will take questions afterward.

The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan, multi-issue organization which encourages informed and active participation in government.