Heidi Beidinger Indiana State House District 5
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I’m running for office to represent our shared values rooted in freedom. I’ll fight to make our corner of Indiana a place where Hoosiers can live, work, and play safely.
I was born and raised in South Bend to immigrant parents who lived through WWII in Europe and raised me to care for my sisters, work hard, respect my aunts and uncles, and be self sufficient. I raised my kids in Granger with these same values of respect and hard work.
I decided to run for House Seat 5 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and I recognized that my daughters would not have the choices, autonomy, and freedoms that I have had. We face an existential challenge from extremists who want to limit individual freedom and human dignity, and to increase the government’s reach into our personal lives.
These extremists are imposing their will, their beliefs, and their religion on all of us. This is exactly the opposite of what our community and the majority of citizens want. Polls show that the overwhelming majority of us—across political party, gender, class, and race—want autonomy over our bodies and access to life saving medical care when we need it. The vast majority of us also want to see background checks for gun ownership, so we can be safer from the wave of gun violence rending our nation.
Why are you running for office?
I’m running for office to protect freedom: the freedom to vote and choose our leaders, reproductive freedom, the freedom of our kids to have a world-class education without being scared of being shot in school, the freedom of families to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and the freedom of LGBTQ+ people to love whom they want and identify as they are.
What are the three biggest issues facing your community?
Freedom to vote is at risk; reproductive freedom is at risk, and educational attainment is low.
How do you propose to solve those problems?
I want to lower the barriers to voting so that more people have the freedom to choose their leaders. I will fight for better access to health care and abortion care, which is part of the continuum of OBGYN care, and I’ll vote to increase funding for public education in Indiana.
What is your stance on environmental and climate concerns that are facing your community?
I’ve spent much of my career in public health, particularly on reducing lead in housing. I believe that we need to reduce harmful toxins in the home, need to clean up our air and water so we can have more greenspace where families can gather and enjoy nature, and we need to make sure we have a sustainable planet for our kids and grandkids.
What commonsense gun safety measures would have the most impact on your community?
Indiana currently allows permitless carry. We need to see registration requirements, a ban on assault weapons, red-flag laws, and every other measure that has been proven to reduce gun deaths.
How would criminal justice reforms impact your community?
We all believe that our criminal justice system is broken, particularly by the extreme GOP that wants to divide us by race and place. We need to make sure that our community has adequate mental health resources and also make sure that our law enforcement operates equitably and fairly.
How would you work to protect a woman’s reproductive health?
As a member of the Indiana State House, I would introduce bills to support reproductive freedom across the spectrum. I’d seek to increase access to life-saving care, I’d address the shortage of OBGYNs in Indiana, I’d help people understand that abortion is part of the continuity of care. As the President of the St. Joseph County Board of Health, I have been concerned about maternal mortality and morbidity for a long time and would continue to fight for more access to care in the State House.
What measures would you advocate to ensure that your constituents have the right to vote?
I would work to remove some of the barriers to voting that Indiana has implemented. Indiana has one of the lowest turnout rates and the highest barriers to voting in the United States. I would want to loosen voter ID restrictions, add more early voting locations, and hours, make vote-by-mail available to everyone for every election, increase the number of hours polls are open, and increase civics education in the schools to ensure that everyone understands the power of their vote and has the opportunity to cast their vote.
Anything else?
I’m running to enhance the freedom of my constituents in NW Indiana. My opponent is an extremist Republican who is an ALEC member and has been their legislator of the month. He voted to keep trans girls out of sports, and supports banning abortion. He is too extreme for Indiana, and too extreme for the country.
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