INDIANAPOLIS – During Tuesday’s presidential debate in Philadelphia, former President Donald Trump tried to defend his actions on abortion by saying that states are voting, and that the issue has been given to voters in each state. Not in Indiana.

While Trump is right that ballot initiatives have passed in states where they are allowed, including Ohio, Kansas, and Michigan, he fails to mention the over 20 states, including Indiana, where citizen-led ballot initiatives are not allowed or have been blocked by Republican politicians. 

Indiana Republicans should listen to their party’s leader, and give Hoosiers a direct say on this issue at the polls. It leads to the question: why haven’t they already?

Maybe it’s because they know the vast majority of Hoosiers do not agree with them on this issue. Multiple surveys have shown around 60 percent of Hoosiers believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

And it’s not just abortion. Voters in other states have had the right to vote on cannabis legalization and collective bargaining rights for their citizens. Hoosiers should have the same ability when it comes to these important issues. 

“The undisputed leader of the Republican Party is encouraging states around the country to hold ballot initiatives on the issue of abortion, but the Republican supermajority at the Indiana Statehouse isn’t listening. They don’t care what the average Hoosier family has to say on this issue, and have catered their policy on abortion to be as extreme as possible, passing the country’s first ban in 2022 after the fall of Roe,” said Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl.

“What are Indiana Republicans so afraid of? The will of the people? There is no reason to continue denying the opportunity to vote on this issue to the Hoosier electorate – other than the fact that they want to continue forcing this unpopular policy onto Indiana. This fall, Hoosiers can vote Democratic to break the supermajority and restore common sense at the Statehouse. Our party will always stand for your freedom to vote directly on these important issues.”