Holcomb defends new abortion law, calls it ‘progress’

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday said Indiana’s new abortion law represented progress toward valuing the sanctity of life.

The governor’s comments, following a chamber of commerce luncheon, marked the first time he had spoken publicly since he signed the law just before midnight Aug. 5. He says he’s not concerned by statements from pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. and multinational corporation Cummins suggesting those two Indiana companies will send jobs and investment to other states in light of the new law. Holcomb points to the more than $17 billion in capital investment in the state this year as proof the state remains an attractive option for employers.

Companies “tell us that the things that are most important to them is because of site-selection superiority, it’s because of low cost of doing business, it’s because of access to talent,” the Republican said, “and we have that access to talent. We had it yesterday, we have it today and we’ll have it tomorrow.”

Holcomb said before the special session began July 25 he had no “red lines” when it came to any potential abortion legislation. Once the session began, the governor played almost no public role, making no public statements on the debate over rape and incest exceptions, for example. The law he signed only allows abortions for rape and incest victims up to 10 weeks into their pregnancy.

Asked whether he agreed with that provision, Holcomb replied, “This is part of the progress, and part of the progression of this very topic. And you can pick any week, any day and argue on that day. But this was, in my opinion, progress.”

For their part, Democrats have accused Holcomb and the Republican Party of ignoring polling data such as a 2019 Ball State survey which showed nearly half of Hoosiers support access to abortion services in all or most cases and just 17% favor a total ban. Democrats also criticized Holcomb’s decision to sign the bill behind closed doors in the middle of the night, less than an hour after it cleared the General Assembly. Holcomb says he signed the bill at that time because that is when lawmakers presented it to him.