1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

Indiana's abortion ban has transformed from political debate into a healthcare crisis affecting real Hoosier women. Over the past year, women across our state have been denied critical care, forced to travel out of state for medical attention, or endured unnecessary life-threatening suffering because lawmakers have inserted themselves between patients and their doctors. These are not abstract policy discussions. These are our neighbors, friends, daughters, and mothers facing dangerous situations when healthcare decisions are no longer in their control. Women experiencing miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, high-risk pregnancies, and reproductive system cancers are being denied timely care that could prevent life-threatening infections or critical bleeding. The consequences extend beyond individual patients. Healthcare providers are leaving Indiana for states where they can practice comprehensive medicine without fear of criminal prosecution. This exodus of OBGYNs means fewer doctors available to provide essential services including pregnancy-saving prenatal care, miscarriage management, and treatment for reproductive health conditions. When we politicize and criminalize medical practice, we lose the very professionals our communities depend on for quality healthcare. This ban is not saving lives. It is costing lives. Families are being torn apart and children are losing parents because political ideology has been prioritized over medical expertise and women's wellbeing. This approach betrays Indiana's values of community care and Hoosier Hospitality by treating women as objects to be governed rather than individuals deserving dignity and the right to make personal healthcare choices. I urge you to support legislation that restores reproductive freedom in Indiana. Women and their doctors, not politicians, should make healthcare decisions. Our state needs policies that protect access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare and ensure that medical providers can practice without fear of legal repercussions for providing standard care. The health and safety of Indiana women depends on reversing this dangerous ban.