Shabazz: Abortion debate has business side
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThis is week two of the Indiana General Assembly’s special session and once again the abortion bill debate will put a spotlight on Indiana. Over the weekend, the Indiana Senate narrowly voted to ban most abortion in the state and that bill now heads to the House and could make Indiana among the first in the nation to pass abortion restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade.
In an interview on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, political analyst Abdul Hakim Shabazz said the hot button issue could have an impact on Indiana business.
“It is an emotional issue, it is a legal issue, but it is also a business issue,” said Shabazz, who believes it could affect decisions about investment in Indiana. “You’ve got someone who’s thinking about where I’m going to set up shop, I’ve got to attract talent, particularly younger women who all their life they have only known Roe vs. Wade, now Roe vs. Wade is gone.”
On Saturday, after about three hours of debate, the Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill with the minimum 26 votes needed to send it to the House, where it could see proposed changes as early as this week.
The bill would prohibit abortions from the time a fertilized egg implants in a uterus. Exceptions would be allowed in cases of rape and incest, but a patient seeking an abortion for either reason would have to sign a notarized affidavit attesting to the attack.
The bill now heads to the House, where proposed changes could come as soon as next week — the second week of lawmakers’ three-week special session.
House Speaker Todd Huston on Friday declined to discuss specifics of the Senate bill. But he said he supports the rape and incest exceptions.
The special session must adjourn by August 14.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.