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Saturday, August 16, 2008
Ind. Law - More on: "Vanderburgh commissioners pass abortion regulations"
Updating this August 15th ILB entry, Thomas B. Langhorne reports again today in the Evansville Courier & Press about the August 5th Vanderburgh County Commissioners' vote, but the issue of whether the commissioners may have violated the open meetings law is not directly addressed. Some quotes from the lengthy story:
Two Vanderburgh County Commissioners acknowledged Friday that fear of controversy was a factor in their decision to pass an abortion-related ordinance in about 45 seconds, without discussion and without uttering the word "abortion."But commissioners Jeff Korb and Troy Tornatta each said the other wanted to slip the ordinance through without public input.
Although the ordinance is titled "An Ordinance Concerning Abortion Provider Patient Safety," it appears on the County Commissioners' Aug. 5 public meeting agenda as "CO. 08-08-018 Patient Safety Ordinance."
Korb, Tornatta and Commissioner Bill Nix did not debate the ordinance, which states a doctor may not perform an abortion in Vanderburgh County without having hospital admitting privileges in the county or an adjacent county. The doctor also must inform the patient where she can receive follow-up care in case of complications.
The ordinance provides for no fines or penalties.
"The word 'abortion' probably should have been used (during the Aug. 5 meeting and on the meeting agenda), I understand that," Nix said. "But it's not an issue about abortion being right or wrong. It's strictly an issue about the safety of a woman who might have an abortion. Who would be opposed to something like that? To me it was just a no-brainer."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 16, 2008 09:29 AM
Posted to Indiana Law