Second Strike Against Birth Control! Senate Bill 3 was Strike One.  Strike Two came Wednesday 1/16/08 when the Senate Judiciary committee passed Senate Bill 146.  SB 146 contains an assortment of anti-choice rhetoric we've fought before, but this year it's clear:  the authors of SB 146 are using the rhetoric as another attempt to deny women access not just to abortion, but to birth control. SB 146 contains language that will codify the idea that human life begins at conception--an idea that, as we learned with SB 3, means certain people will interpret hormonal birth control methods as abortions.  And if one of those certain people happens to be your pharmacist, it won't take a Strike Three--birth control is out.  That means you strike out when you need to refill your pills or pick up emergency contraception. Sen. Lanane offered an amendment to protect contraception access, but the vote was tied, meaning the amendment failed.  SB 146 will likely have its final Senate vote the week of 1/28.  Tell your Senator that we should be working to prevent unintended pregnancy, not deny women health care! Sample Letter for Campaign Subject: Dear [ Decision Maker ] , SB 146 is detrimental to women's health, and as your constituent, I implore you to vote against it. SB 146 is not only anti-abortion, it's anti-birth control. Yet birth control is basic health care for women all over Indiana! For years, we've seen bill after bill after bill that chips away at abortion access without ever addressing the underlying cause. The truth is, we'll always have abortions in Indiana as long as we have unintended pregnancies. The Senate should scrap SB 146 and consider the Prevention First bills (SB 222, 277, 311, and 327), which would actually help Hoosiers plan their families and prevent unintended pregnancies. Prevention First means healthy families, but SB 146 just means bad news. Vote NO on SB 146. Sincerely,

Campaign Launched: January 18, 2008

Background Information

While Prevention First bills go unheard, SB 146 would add a few more bits of anti-choice propaganda to Indiana's informed consent information which women must hear 18 hours in advance of an abortion procedure.  But one bit in particular could reach far beyond abortion patients to many many many more women.

SB 146 would add convoluted language about ova and sperm and fertilization which all boils down to “life begins at conception”.  Both SB 146 and SB 3 were authored by Sen. Jeff Drozda.  Clearly, his motivation is not to protect women but to push his own anti-birth control agenda.

SB 3 and SB 146 will be likely heard in the full Senate on Tuesday, 1/22/08, which is also the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.  It's ironic that we're fighting now not just for abortion rights, but for the means to prevent abortion.  Tell your senator today to protect birth control!