They haven't seen economic issues

My good friend Eric Morgan in Muncie, IN forwarded an email to me this morning regarding the Indiana legislation I previously wrote about (see HB1080 and C'mon Indiana). The American Family Association of Indiana issued an email blast this morning. Below is an excert:

STATE LEGISLATURE ENDS: Big Economic Issues Overshadowed Pro-Family Issues

Yesterday was the final day of the Indiana legislature, and it was definitely a race to the finish line for a lot of big issues. Most of the media attention was on Indy Works, Indianapolis fire department consolidation and Major Moves, toll road privatization. These two big issues had a lot of political dynamics that made for some drama and entertaining stories for the media, but there were also some significant pro-family issues headed for the Governor’s desk and then into the law books.

Perhaps the biggest topic of interest for social conservatives in the last couple weeks surrounds two pro-life bills, HB 1172 and HB 1080. The first bill involved recognition that life begins at conception and an informed consent provision informing women considering abortion that at a certain point the child might feel pain. HB 1172 passed the House last night by a vote of 75-23 last night. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to pass the bill before the midnight deadline, and therefore, it died.

House Bill 1080 fared even less well. The language requiring the Indiana State Department of Health to inspect abortion clinics was completely stripped from the bill and education deregulation language was inserted, changing the entire topic of the bill. The ISDH has consistently opposed applying health and safety standards, such as those that apply to other outpatient surgical centers, to existing abortion clinics. In the end, it appears that they won. Yet, it will be a hollow victory if any more Hoosier women are the victims of sub-standard care as were those who testified before the Senate Health Committee in the mid-90’s. This is a battle pro-life supporters will have to fight again in another legislature.

While the Department of Health does not seem to want to know what is going on in Indiana’s abortion clinics, they have shown a keen interest in church picnics and pitch-in dinners. House Bill 1235 passed the last night 78-7 in the House and 50-0 in the Senate with language exempting churches from having to meet retail food guidelines like those applied to McDonalds for simply having an occasional bake sale, church supper or a concession stand.

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It would seem that the "Purpose Driven Bake Sale" is entact and secure for the Hoosier state.