House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) was in Washington, D.C., Friday to join Vice President Kamala Harris for a roundtable on abortion access. He was invited along with other state legislators from states with Republican-controlled Statehouses.
During his remarks, GiaQuinta highlighted a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had to travel to Indiana to seek an abortion after she was raped. He said Republican lawmakers will end that access once they return for a special session on July 25.
“Make no mistake: an abortion ban will kill women,” GiaQuinta said. “Indiana leads the nation in maternal and infant mortality outcomes and lacks the infrastructure to support families as it is.”
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Vice President Harris said the debate on abortion access and the harm to pregnant people seeking health care is no longer “an intellectual discussion.”
“Congress must act. But also we cannot wait for Congress to act, which is why the president, Joe Biden, this morning – earlier today issued executive orders around what we will do at the federal level,” Harris said.
Those executive orders task the heads of the Federal Trade Commission, Health and Human Services, and Justice Department to create reports and consider additional steps to protect people seeking abortions. Those include protections from having their data used against them and expanded access to self-managed medicinal abortions.
Contact Lauren at lchapman@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @laurenechapman_.