“I’ve talked to lawyers and both the Constitution and statute are clear. He’s qualified as he has been for all his previous elections."INDIANAPOLIS – All health care providers performing "surgical procedures" in Indiana would be required to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital under an amendment passed by the Indiana House on Monday.
The amendment was added to Senate Bill 89, which previously affected only doctors who perform abortions.
"The reason we did that is to provide a standard of care for all surgical procedures instead of focusing on just abortion," said Rep. Dave Cheatham, D-North Vernon.
Some procedures that might now be covered include plastic surgery, such as liposuction or corrective eye surgery, but the bill does not define the term, so its full scope is unclear. The amendment did exempt dentists.
The amendment was one of about a dozen considered by the House on Monday. Several that might have weakened the bill failed.
Two others that passed would:
•Add a clause to the informed consent law that a woman must receive before an abortion saying that a fetus might feel pain.
•Require hospitals to offer breast and cervical cancer screenings to uninsured women, with state reimbursement from cigarette tax revenue.
The amended bill now goes to the full House, which must vote this week to meet a legislative deadline.
The measure was spurred by a handful of cases in which women developed complications after abortions performed by a doctor in Fort Wayne, Dr. George Klopfer.
The Illinois physician works at the Fort Wayne Women’s Health Organization and also performs abortions in South Bend and Gary.
Supporters believe requiring admitting privileges will provide better follow-up care for women with the ability to track complications and hold doctors accountable for problems.
Opponents argue it could shut down abortion clinics because some doctors likely could not get privileges, which are controlled by private hospitals that often require a doctor to live nearby.
The House defeated an amendment that would have given doctors longer to obtain privileges instead of the two months allowed under the bill. Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, said she spoke to several hospitals that said their process takes three to four months.
There are nine abortion clinics in the state, in five counties. Of the seven doctors currently performing abortions in Indiana, only one, in Indianapolis, has hospital privileges, according to testimony.
