Yesterday’s events with the Indiana General Assembly were nothing less than a circus. Ninety amendments were filed onto just a handful of bills as lawmakers attempted to be heard past the dictatorship of the ruling Speaker of the House.
Among these were strong LIFE measures that no doubt would have saved the lives of unborn children in the state. The Speaker called a caucus meeting within the first hour of starting the session. His deliberation over how to kill the amendments lasted over four hours. His mantra: No social issues.
One by one liberty-minded amendments were said to not be germane and slid off into the trash.
Germaneness is used as an excuse many times to kill amendments. When a measure is put forward another member of the House can say that it’s not “germane” or applicable to the existing bill. An example of non-germane would be placing a life amendment onto a bill that has to deal with roads and transportation.
Once a member states that a measure is not germane, the Speaker will shut off all mic’s and video, leaving no access to the general public watching the session, usually within a few minutes he comes back to say it’s been agreed upon and slams his gavel. The amendment then dies and they move on to the next. The only exception to this is for there to be a challenge against that ruling… and that rarely happens, especially amongst compliant House members.
Representative Nisly authored two amendments that were significant to the cause of life. The first would shut down the rouge abortion clinic, Whole Women’s Health in South Bend. See motion here:
The second amendment claimed the sanctity of life by defining a “Living Human Being” and stating that any abortion clinic that participated in the demise of a living human being would be shut down. See motion here:
As the South Bend clinic amendment moved forward the common practice of killing began. Rep. Dan Leonard is the habitual offender for this motion. He claims all LIFE amendments are not to move on. We saw this several times during the session this year and he continually presents to the House members that life amendments frankly don’t seem to fit anywhere. Leonard has been in office since 2002 and certainly a member of the established club at the Statehouse. Find his district & contact information here:
Once Leonard stated that the amendment was not germane, the South Bend amendment fell to its demise. The bill at hand was SB 325, a bill that deals with the licensing and practices of medical facilities; this was certainly germane to the amendment and the House members were aware of it. Even so, it slid off into the trash.
Later Rep. Nisly’s sanctity of life amendment came forward. A germane amendment indeed! It defined what is a “Living Human Being,” something essential to the workings of ALL medical facilities. This gave personal recognition to human life and complimented the language of the existing bill. It was a perfect fit! The Speaker asked if Rep Nisly had a second member of the House to agree with him and Rep. Jacob stood tall. Moving forward, Dan Leonard bellows from the back bluntly that the bill is… take a guess..not germane.
The showdown began. The Speaker turns off all media and the public screens go silent. Within a few minutes, they return in the usual position and he goes to hit the gavel. Just then, Rep Jacob shouts out that he is challenging this ruling of the Chair and will now force the assembly to vote with the Speaker or for the babies.
Another Rep. takes the Speaker’s place and the battle is underway. Rep. Jacob comes to the mic and presents a most solid presentation as to why germaneness is not a factor and that members should NOT side with the Speaker.
Dan Leonard then slid up to the podium with a rant, as his loyalty to Leadership can be described as an outright smear against conservatives. His argument was in no way incomparable to Rep. Jacob’s sound perspective. The author of the amendment, Curt Nisly, then circled back and explained again why this was not only germane but that lawmakers now could vote for the advancement of a simple measure that would protect unborn babies OR they could lock arms with the House leader and turn their backs on social conservatives.
The vote was taken. (See link to vote sheet here)
Please take the time today to contact both of these brave lawmakers and encourage them. Also, take note that Rep. Hostettler also voted right on our amendment. It has been the rumor that he struggles with the actions inside the caucus against measures keeping the unborn at risk.
Our sources say that Speaker Huston was clearly angry with Rep. Hostettler’s vote yesterday and behind slammed doors he was reprimanded for his vote for LIFE. It’s good to remember that the swamp not only exists in Washington, it also is lurking in our backyards.
Thank you to those of you who have supported our efforts here at Hoosiers for Life. We continue to work all year to prepare and plan for such things. Our goal is to make abortion illegal and unthinkable. Please consider supporting us and joining us in this cause for LIFE!
Watch the full video of the sanctity of life amendment below
Don’t forget to contact Representatives Nisly and Jacob today with an encouraging note:
Rep. Nisly - 574-213-3814
Rep. Jacob - 317-919-5949
Rep. Matt Hostettler - https://www.indianahouserepublicans.com/members/general/matt-hostettler/?back=members
Please consider sharing our petition with your friends. Every baby deserves this protection and a chance to live a full life. https://www.hoosiers4life.com/petition
Also, we need donations! We work diligently to protect the preborn in Indiana all year round, our finances come solely from supporters like you. We need friends like you in the fight for LIFE, prayerfully consider helping us in this way today. https://www.hoosiers4life.com/donate
We want to thank you once again for standing with us throughout this legislative battle. It could not have been done well without your phone calls, emails, and prayers. We are proud to stand alongside you and to be a voice for the voiceless while fighting to change our surroundings, from a culture of death into a culture of LIFE! We are grateful and will continue to lock arms with like-minded people who want to see innocent children have the opportunity to live full lives and be protected from abortion.
For Life,
Amy Schlichter
Executive Director
Hoosiers for Life is a tax-exempt non-profit organization under IRC 501(c)(4) which does not endorse, support, or oppose candidates for election.