08/20/2008

Associated Press

The Vanderburgh County commissioners are standing behind their decision to approve an abortion-related ordinance despite criticism over it being voted upon two weeks ago without any public input.

The ordinance requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals — a provision abortion providers say would restrict women's access to the procedure.

The commissioners unanimously approved the measure Aug. 5 in about 45 seconds after the ordinance's first and final reading. The word "abortion" was never mentioned, except on the agenda, but abortion-rights advocates and reporters later learned of its nature.

Dozens of people attended a public meeting Tuesday night, during which Commissioners Jeff Korb and Bill Nix, who are Republicans, and Troy Tornatta, a Democrat, said they regretted passing an abortion-related ordinance without seeking public comment.

But they did not rescind the ordinance, saying after about an hour of public comment that they had heard nothing to change their minds.

"I make no apologies for what we did. I make an apology for how we did it, but not for the actual votes," Korb said. "It's not an anti-abortion issue for us. It was a health issue in our community for us."

Abortion foes are seeking a similar ordinance in Allen County, where one of Indiana's nine abortion clinics is located in Fort Wayne. Backers of the measure say that while Vanderburgh County does not have any abortion clinics, the ordinance will make it more difficult for one to open in or near Evansville, the state's third-largest city.

Tornatta objected to the notion that the Vanderburgh County commissioners acted in secret. He said the original seven-page ordinance had been whittled to two as attorneys and officials of Deaconess and St. Mary's hospitals met and negotiated through e-mail messages.

Tuesday's hearing was filled with those on both sides of the abortion debate, along with open government advocates.

Cheryl Byrnes told the commissioners she was disappointed they failed to address the ordinance in an "open forum" where the measure's intent was clear. She said the way the ordinance was passed "just really smacked of behind the scenes, let's get it through."

Abortion opponents who spoke did not take issue with the way Korb, Nix and Tornatta passed the ordinance. Instead, they thanked the commissioners for passing it.

"I think it's something that needed to be done. ... God bless you," said county resident Brenda Bergwitz.

Korb said the news media could have reported on the proposed ordinance before Aug. 5 if reporters had gone to the commissioners' office to look through meeting agenda papers.

The ordinance was drafted at the suggestion of local anti-abortion activist Bill Butterfield after the General Assembly failed to pass a similar law.

Butterfield said Tuesday that County Attorney Ted Ziemer Jr., a former Vanderburgh County Right to Life board member, advised him the ordinance would pass.

"He said that it's normal," Butterfield said. "He said this is no big deal, this is for the health of the mother, so it's going to pass, there's no problem with it, shouldn't be any controversy."