LA ANTI-ABORTION BILL - Louisiana voters may get a chance to decide whether to amend the state constitution to say it doesn't protect abortion rights. An anti-abortion proposal, House Bill 425, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Katrina Jackson, of Monroe, could rise in legal status if the U.S. Supreme Court ever reverses the Roe vs Wade decision that legalized abortion. During a House Civil Law Committee hearing last week, Jackson explained her bill seeks to put language in the state constitution to clearly say: Louisiana doesn’t protect a woman’s right to an abortion.
"This bill will finally give the people of Louisiana an opportunity to say that we are against the shedding of innocent blood in Louisiana," explained Jackson.
Jackson’s proposal doesn’t include whether or not abortion would be allowed in the case of rape or incest, but Jackson said "but at any point that Roe v. Wade is overturned, then the Louisiana Legislature will have the opportunity to bring a bill to determine whether or not there are exceptions."
Critics say Louisiana already has some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the nation, making it increasingly difficult for women to get the procedure. In fact the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked another law by Jackson that would require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Steffani Bangel is with the New Orleans Abortion Fund.
“People in Louisiana suffer when restrictions like these are passed. Women are suffering now, and so too are the children born into families that couldn’t support them," explained Bangel.
The bill cleared committee with no objections and is scheduled for the House floor this week it will require 2/3rds majority to pass. The measure has the support of Governor John Bel Edwards, though a constitutional amendment doesn't require the governor's signature to become law.
