Indiana Banned Almost All Abortions And Now Employers Are Scrambling To Get The Hell Out

It's not going to end well for them.

As of Friday, Indiana became the first state to pass a post-Roe near total abortion ban, banning the procedure at all stages of pregnancy with some exceptions in some cases of rape and life/health of the parent or fetus, which sure sucks for people in Indiana. It passed despite full opposition from Democrats and even some opposition from some Republicans who thought the bill went too far.

The law was passed by the legislature instead of being voted on like they did in Kansas, probably because they know they would have lost.

Via The New York Times:  

The law’s passage came after two weeks of emotional testimony and bitter debates in the Statehouse. Even though Republicans hold commanding majorities in both chambers, the bill’s fate did not always seem secure. When a Senate committee considered an initial version of the bill last week, no one showed up to testify in support of it: The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana called it a “cruel, dangerous bill ,” Indiana Right to Life described it as “weak and troubling ,” and a parade of residents with differing views on abortion all urged lawmakers to reject it.

The debate was supercharged by the case of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had traveled to Indiana for an abortion after she was raped. The abortion provider in that case, Dr. Caitlin Bernard , became a target of some on the right.

So this very likely means that now, when a 10-year-old girl is raped in Ohio, she will have to travel all the way to Illinois in order to get an abortion. Nice.

The legislation will lead to troubling economic consequences for the state, and not just for those who have the misfortune of getting pregnant. On Saturday, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, which is based in Indiana and employs 10,000 people there, announced in an official statement that they would very likely have to start looking elsewhere for the sake of their business.

Lilly recognizes that abortion is a divisive and deeply personal issue with no clear consensus among the citizens of Indiana. Despite this lack of agreement,Indiana has opted to quickly adopt one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the United States. We are concerned that this law will hinder Lilly's- and Indiana's ability to attract diverse scientific, engineering and business talent from around the world.

While we have expanded our employee health plan coverage to include travel for reproductive services unavailable locally, that may not be enough for some current and potentialemployees.As a global company headquartered in Indianapolis for more than 145 years, we work hard to retain and attract thousands of people who are important drivers of our state's economy. Given this new law, we will be forced to plan for more employment growth outside our home state.

They're not the only Indiana employer to feel that way either. Following Eli Lilly's statement, several other major companies based in the state shared that they, too, were considering their options in other states as a result of this decision.

The fact is, these laws are going to hurt more than just pregnant people. Employers are going to have a hell of a time getting attracting quality employees from out-of-state because people are not going to want to give up their reproductive rights in order to live and work there. And not to be mean, but statistically, college graduates tend to be more likely to support reproductive rights when compared to those with only a high school education ... so if you're a company looking for people with specific educational qualifications, you're not going to want to limit your options in that way. It's highly unlikely that people who oppose abortion will be opposed to moving to a state that allows abortion because nothing would really change for them, but people who don't want to put their lives at risk are not going to be moving to Indiana or any other state barring the procedure any time soon. Therefore it will not make sense for a lot of companies to be based in those areas.

That's going to affect the whole economy of these places — and lets be real, a lot of these states that are banning abortion are not doing too great economically as it is. They need these jobs, they need the people who work them to live in their state not just to provide goods and services but to pay taxes. Any satisfaction they may get knowing that there are people in their state being forced to give birth against their will, will eventually get pretty boring in the face of losing so much economic opportunity.

On the bright side, this will bring great tax base boost and economic opportunity to nearby states where abortion remains legal. Surely any of the pro-choice states surrounding Indiana would be thrilled to take some of their employers off of their hands.

Also on the bright side, Indiana does have this guy, Rep. John Bartlett, who proposed an amendment to the bill barring erectile dysfunction pills — a thing I always find enjoyable no matter how many times it is done.

“IN state Rep. Bartlett (D) introduces an amendment to the anti-abortion bill to outlaw erectile dysfunction drugs: "We're forcing young girls to be mothers, but not forcing the men to be fathers ... If an unwanted pregnancy is an act of God, then impotency must be an act of God."”

— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1659644918 

Specifically I like how he kept pronouncing "impotency" in a weird way, as if to suggest that he is not personally familiar with this particular issue that some other men may face.

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