With the passing of Senate Bill 1, the Indiana legislature became the first in the country to ban abortion following the release of the Dobbs decision. This extremist ban, popular only among a tiny group of white Evangelicals, bans abortion in all but a few narrowly and poorly defined cases. Claiming to represent the people of Indiana in one breath, our elected officials refused to hear the will of the people, acknowledged the unpopularity of their actions, and forced through an unscientific and unpopular bill with little public input.
Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray claims that Hoosiers can communicate with their representatives to get the bills they want passed. These are nothing more than empty words. Numerous polls show broad popular support for abortion access across demographics. Despite this popular support, Indiana legislators spent two weeks debating the legality of abortion on the basis of their own personal faith.
This is not representation!
Calls to vote out anti-choice legislators, too, are not enough. With 32% of the Senate seats up for re-election unopposed this year, residents in these districts have no democratic voice through the ballot box. Same too, for residents of heavily gerrymandered districts that are designed to favor reactionary institutions over the wants and needs of working-class Hoosiers.
This is not representation!
As our legislators have proven themselves unable and unwilling to truly listen to their constituents, we reject their authority to dictate our lives. We demand a public referendum on the matter of abortion rights!
