Thousands of protesters descended Monday on the Hoosier Statehouse as lawmakers heard residents' views on a bill seeking to prohibit most abortions within Indiana, Politico reported.
Outside the Indiana state capitol building, competing pro-life and pro-abortion protesters sparred before a swarm of abortion supporters entered the building, shouting at state senators as the special session ensued.
The controversial legislation being debated by lawmakers amid the jeering could become the first in the country passed by a Legislature since the Dobbs decision to restrict the procedure.
Indiana's bill, in particular, seeks a complete ban except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to a mother's life, according to The Associated Press.
"I don't believe children should be murdered based on their circumstance of conception," Noblesville resident Emma Duell told the chamber. "What happened the night they were conceived, something they have no control over, should not affect whether they are protected from abortion violence or not."
Earlier, Vice President Kamala Harris visited a roundtable in Indianapolis featuring Democratic state legislators and community leaders to rally support against the abortion bill floated by Republican lawmakers.
"I am here to support these extraordinary and courageous leaders and, in particular, on this day where Indiana is the first state since the Dobbs decision to convene a special session to propose a law that ... essentially will be a ban on abortion for women," Harris said.
Democrat state Sen. Jean Breaux, who participated in Harris' discussion, released a statement regarding her opposition to the bill, claiming it will lead to higher mortalities.
"Total abortion bans, similar to the one proposed by Indiana Republicans, will lead to a 21% increase in the number of pregnancy-related deaths overall, and a 33% increase among Black women," Breaux alleged.
"Lack of abortion access in a state with abysmal maternity care will kill women," she added.
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