Indiana governor signs abortion ban

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) on Friday signed into law a bill that bans nearly all abortions in the state with no gestational limit. It will take effect on Sept. 15.

The Washington Post notes that, unlike many red states, "Indiana did not have a 'trigger law' on the books that would immediately prohibit abortion" when the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade (1973), ending the constitutional right to an abortion.

The new law includes exceptions for rape, incest, lethal fetal abnormality, or serious health risk to the pregnant woman. The rape and incest exceptions, which were hotly debated among Indiana Republicans, would not require a woman seeking an abortion to file a police report.

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In a statement, Holcomb struck a conciliatory note, praising the bill's "carefully negotiated exceptions" and promising an "open ear" to pro-choice Hoosiers. He also touted the legislation's "nearly $100 million in long overdue increased funding to support the health of our Hoosier mothers and babies." Indiana has the third highest maternal mortality rate in the country.