Long-sought-after legislation to protect young people from online harm is among the successes for the Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) and other advocates at the conclusion of this year’s short legislative session. In the session’s final hours on Friday, February 27, lawmakers voted to give Indiana parents greater control over their children’s access to social media and their activities online. This followed an emotional plea earlier in the month from the family of Fishers teen Hailey Buzbee, who was found dead in Ohio in January after allegedly leaving home with a 39-year-old man she had been communicating with online for more than a year. “We have long advocated for providing parents with additional tools to protect their children from the dangers posed by social media and digital technology,” said Alexander Mingus, executive director of the ICC, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Indiana. “Youth are particularly vulnerable to harm and exploitation online, and we commend Indiana lawmakers for taking this important step toward their safety and protection.” The new restrictions will require social media providers to verify the age of their users and prohibit anyone from under 16 years old from setting up an account without a parent or guardian’s permission. Parents also will be able to set limits on who their children can interact with online. Other provisions in the legislation – which originated in Senate Bill 199 but ultimately passed as a last-minute addition to House Bill 1408 – include restricting social media companies from using algorithms on children’s accounts that can fuel addiction to the online platforms. As in every legislative session, the ICC advocated for or against bills based on the long and rich history of Catholic social teaching. Among the other measures the ICC supported was Senate Bill 236, which would have paved the way for plaintiffs to sue out-of-state doctors and companies prescribing, manufacturing, and mailing abortion-inducing drugs to patients in Indiana. “These drugs aren’t safe to be mailed across Indiana,” Senator Tyler Johnson (R-Leo) – the bill’s author and an emergency room physician – told lawmakers in January. “They’re not safe to be given over telehealth (calls). They’re not safe to just randomly prescribe through an internet website.” The measure passed the Senate but never received a hearing in the House. “I think the controversy around this bill was how it would be applied and then enforced,” Mingus said. “As other states take this approach and we see what happens in this laboratory of policy, Indiana may be more likely to pass this type of legislation in the coming years. This is something we will continue to follow and work on.” Another measure the ICC had supported was signed into law on Thursday, February 26, by Governor Mike Braun. House Bill 1389, authored by Representative Shane Lindauer (R-Jasper), will prohibit religious discrimination in adoption and foster care services. “This legislation will prevent scenarios we’ve seen in other parts of the country of religious-based providers of adoption and foster care services having a conflict with the state solely based on their religious beliefs,” Mingus said. “This will also apply to individuals seeking to adopt or foster a child. We were happy to see this bill cross the finish line and head to the governor’s desk.” Another success for the ICC was the rejection of a measure to introduce execution by firing squad as an additional means of capital punishment. Currently, only lethal injection is allowed by law to carry out the death penalty in Indiana, although lawmakers backing House Bill 1119 argued that the high cost of the drugs involved, as well as supply issues, have created the need for alternate methods. Following impassioned debate on the House floor, the bill was defeated in a close vote. Representative Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne), a Catholic lawmaker who last year introduced legislation to abolish the death penalty altogether, was among those appealing to his colleagues to vote no. “I’m against every means of capital punishment until this body can debate it,” Morris told his fellow House members. “Stand here and tell me the best way to execute a life. I’m a pro-life legislator, and I know many of you are as well. Vote this down and let’s start the discussion on capital punishment.” In engaging with lawmakers on this bill and similar legislation, the ICC also encouraged a broader discussion about the death penalty, which the Catholic Church opposes in any form. “We had a lot of good dialogue on the issue of the death penalty in general as we strongly opposed expanding the methods used to carry out capital punishment in Indiana,” said Roarke LaCoursiere, associate director of the ICC. “Fortunately, this legislation didn’t progress past the first half of session, which was a win for us.” But the 2026 legislative session also held disappointments for the ICC and other advocates. Senate Bill 76, a sweeping immigration measure that the ICC had opposed, passed the General Assembly on Wednesday, February 25, and was awaiting the governor’s signature at press time. The measure aims to tighten the enforcement of federal immigration laws at the local level in Indiana, mandating cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by state and local law enforcement, employers, and other entities. Concerns over the measure had prompted the ICC to submit a letter to lawmakers cautioning against “a one-sided approach to immigration policy that is only focused on enforcement.” The letter noted that Indiana is home to 137,000 unauthorized immigrants, more than 60 percent of whom have lived in the state at least a decade. “The Indiana Catholic Conference argues that the humane solution for many of these longtime residents is not deportation but, rather, earned pathways to citizenship,” the letter stated. “This is not an endorsement of open borders or illegal entry, but rather, a prudential moral judgment applied to the challenges of today.” The ICC’s letter echoed similar statements from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and several of Indiana’s bishops over their growing concerns about the country’s immigration policies and practices. Following the General Assembly’s passage of Senate Bill 76, Mingus reflected on the “careful balancing” that must be attained between protecting a nation’s borders while welcoming the stranger and helping those in need. “We will continue to share this message that is coming neither from the political right or the left but from the heart of the Church,” Mingus said. “We must explore potential solutions that honor our country while honoring the dignity of the human person.” That inherent human dignity, which is at the core of Catholic social teaching, was also the primary factor behind the ICC’s stance on a bill involving the chronically homeless. Senate Bill 285, which was awaiting the governor’s signature at press time, prohibits sleeping or camping on public property. Supporters of the measure argued that it would provide a pathway for law enforcement officers to connect homeless people with shelters and other critical services.  But the ICC had serious concerns about the bill, particularly the provision that would result in a Class C misdemeanor for repeat violations. “There were a lot of people with good intentions on both sides of this issue,” LaCoursiere said. “We will still seek to find better solutions for our brothers and sisters who suffer from chronic homelessness.” In their latest ICC podcast, LaCoursiere and Mingus reflected on the outcomes of this short legislative session while looking ahead. “We want to continue to be a presence at the Statehouse on behalf of the Church,” Mingus said. “My final invitation for everyone is to continue to pray for our lawmakers, who face a lot of difficult decisions and a lot of pressure.” Mingus added that his hope is not only for legislators but for all citizens of Indiana to “continually draw closer to Christ in our daily walk,” so that decisions and policies always aspire to the common good. “That’s our ultimate prayer, and we hope you join us in that.” To follow priority legislation of the ICC, visit indianacc.org. This website includes access to ICAN, the Indiana Catholic Action Network, which offers the Church’s position on key issues. Those who sign up for ICAN receive alerts on legislation moving forward and ways to contact their elected representatives. The post New Bill Restricts Social Media Access for Teens as Indiana General Assembly Comes to a Close appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less