Indiana Republicans keep struggling over abortion ban

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Republican legislators delayed the start of debate on a proposed abortion ban Thursday amid days of public division over how tightly the law should cover any exceptions for rape or incest victims.

The Republican-dominated state Senate was set to take up possibly dozens of possible amendments to the bill, but that debate was delayed by more than three hours as GOP senators met privately after having been split between those who those who support rape and incest exceptions and those who want to prohibit abortions except to protect the pregnant woman’s life.

Indiana has one of the first Republican-run state legislatures to debate tighter abortion laws since the U.S. Supreme Court last month overturned Roe v. Wade. Its debate comes as several states are also in the midst of court fights over whether tighter abortion restrictions can take effect.

The Indiana Republican disagreement over the abortion ban proposal contrasts with West Virginia, where the GOP-dominated House of Delegates voted Wednesday in favor of a sweeping abortion ban that includes exceptions for victims of rape and incest, as well as for medical emergencies.

The proposal first released last week by Indiana Senate Republican leaders would prohibit abortions from the time a fertilized egg implants in a uterus with limited exceptions, including a requirement that a woman or girl seeking an abortion because of rape or incest to sign an affidavit attesting to the attack.

Anti-abortion activists have roundly assailed the Indiana proposal as too lenient with its exceptions and lacking adequate enforcement measures.

A top legislative Republican, Senate Majority Leader Mark Messmer, voted against the measure during a committee meeting Tuesday, lamenting the “near impossibility of...