INDIANAPOLIS—Today, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of Indiana’s near-total abortion ban. State Senator Jean Breaux (D-Indianapolis) released the following statement:

“I am beyond disappointed and brokenhearted by this decision. I cannot begin to fathom the unnecessary pain and loss that is about to unfold because a right to healthcare access was constitutionally eliminated for millions of women. Privacy rights, the right to freedom, the right to life and dignity all took a backseat to the political desires of an extreme base today. This is a sad moment, but it will not be the end of the fight to restore abortion access. It can’t be, because abortion will not stop, and we cannot condemn Hoosier women to harmful backroom abortions just because Republicans in this Legislature are personally offended by a safe and necessary healthcare procedure. 

“I spoke about the deadly impact an abortion ban would have on those who are poor, who are homeless, who are already underserved in healthcare, at a press conference just this week. My caucus underscored the significance of women having full reproductive healthcare in Indiana in order to have the best health outcomes, and we will continue to fight for the millions of women who deserve access to the full range of care. This decision is a failure as much as it is a stain on our state, but we cannot let it shake us. Today, the importance of reproductive champions was made clear—the majority of us who do not support this decision, who do not want women and girls to die from lack of healthcare access, and who believe that Hoosiers’ private medical decisions are not the business of Indiana’s supermajority must let this be a catalyst to fight harder than ever to restore women’s right to healthcare access and bodily autonomy.”