HB813 would also disregard the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade, regardless of whether it is overturned.
BATON ROUGE, La. - There has been a lot of talk about abortion over the last few days, but a new bill to charge women who get them with murder is making strides in the legislature.
The U.S Supreme Court may be considering overturning Roe v. Wade, but state Rep. Danny McCormick (R) says the state can’t wait any longer. His bill would charge women who seek to get an abortion with homicide.
“The Louisiana legislature is already on the record as being quote pro-life, but some would say this is a bridge too far because this would punish those seeking abortions or perhaps getting an abortion but not the providers,” said political analyst Jim Engster.
The bill passed out of a House committee last week with a 7-2 vote and has a good chance of making it to the governor’s desk.
“Both the governor and the legislature are against abortion, but this is getting a ton of publicity that I think the Louisiana legislature could do without,” Engster added.
Pro-life advocate groups are usually the first to speak out in support of any anti-abortion legislation. But one group says charging the mother with murder is not what they stand for.
“The abortion industry, for decades, has exploited women and unborn children for profit.
Women are a victim in today’s society because of how the abortion industry sells abortion to our society. Our long-standing position has been to hold those accountable for performing the abortions, not necessarily the mother who’s having the abortion,” said Ben Clapper with Louisiana Right to Life.
According to Clapper, Louisiana already has what it needs to protect babies from being aborted if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
“We’ve worked on our Louisiana law; it has a trigger law that’s ready to go to protect moms, so first, we don’t think HB813 is necessary,” Clapper continued.
“Louisiana has passed a law, as has many other states, that would mean that if Louisiana is in the position to ban abortion, and it will be if the U.S Supreme Court votes to strike down Roe v. Wade, then Louisiana immediately says no more abortion,” said Engster.
Should that happen, the three existing clinics that provide abortions across the state would most likely close, and those performing abortions would face the consequences.
The bill is currently on the calendar to be debated and approved by the entire House floor sometime this week.
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