Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana says both houses of the Indiana Legislature have passed House Bill 1217 to toughen regulations on this issue, as it affects many women.
"It sets up regulations for the abortion clinic and the workers to try and find out if a woman is having an abortion under duress -- if she is being pressured to do so by a boyfriend or her parents or by somebody else," Clark explains. "There are penalties for people who try and coerce a woman into having an abortion."
The pro-lifer adds that this will also protect women and girls in another way.
"Often times we know that it's quite possible some women who go through abortion clinics are being pressured because they may be trafficked," Clark notes. "It could be their pimp or their person trafficking them forcing them to get an abortion to continue in that lifestyle to make money."
According to a study published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, nearly 75% of the 987 American women who participated in an after-abortion survey admitted that they experienced "at least subtle forms of pressure to terminate their pregnancies."
If Governor Eric Holcomb (R) signs the measure into law, Indiana will be the 19th state to legislate protection for women coerced into killing their preborn babies. Anyone who violates the new law will be committing a felony.
