INDIANAPOLIS—On Friday, Senate Democratic Leader Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) voted against the concurrence of Senate Bill 2, a proposal designed to provide economic relief to Hoosiers as well as extra assistance to families as Indiana moves to ban abortion. Senator Taylor voted against the bill, which ultimately passed, citing issues with the support efforts not going far enough in the bill and money being directed toward non-licensed pregnancy centers. 

Senator Taylor released the following statement:

“Senate Bill (SB) 2 was created to provide relief to the women and families who will be impacted by an abortion ban in Indiana. During the supermajority’s back-room negotiations to reach an agreement on support for Hoosiers, economic relief from SB 3 was also amended into the proposal. Now SB 2 has provisions to help Hoosiers struggling right now as well as support for families and pregnant women as we prepare to enter a state where birth is state-mandated. Despite the purported intentions of the bill, however, it falls far short of providing Hoosiers with the meaningful help they need. That’s why I voted against the legislation,” Sen. Taylor said.

“Indiana is already failing to adequately support its residents—and now we’re about to force girls and women to have birth against their will without making sure that additional aid is there to help those individuals. Because the restrictions in SB 1 will overwhelmingly impact the most vulnerable women, it’s a guarantee that we’re about to have more babies born into poverty, into hopelessness and into desperate situations. SB 2 fails to go far enough to give Hoosiers the relief they actually need right now or to give pregnant women the support they will need in a state where birth is required by our Legislature, and I ultimately could not support the bill.”