Louisiana lawmakers push for bill that would ban abortions altogether in this US state, giving constitutional rights to “all unborn children from the moment of fertilization”, and under which abortions will be considered homicide.
The move took place on Wednesday, two days after leak of a draft opinion of the Supreme Court of the country, which overturns the historic decision of 1973 that legalized abortion at the federal level.
The court confirmed that the document, which was leaked late Monday by the Politico news website, was authentic, but said it did not reflect the judges’ final decision, which will be announced by the end of June.
Louisiana bill one of dozens of lawmakers in Conservative states aimed at restricting access to abortion and an indication that Republicans are encouraged by the leak.
South Dakota Gov. Christie Noem, a Republican, said this week that she would call an emergency meeting of the local legislature if the 1973 decision was overturned to limit the right to abortion as much as possible.
Deputies in Nebraska and Indiana have also said they will convene special sessions of parliament to consider restricting the right to abortion.
At the same time, liberal states such as California and Vermont are moving to protect the right to abortion by including it in their Constitution.
Louisiana MP Danny McCormick, a Republican, introduced the Abortion Abolition Bill in Marchstated that the state should not wait for the final decision of the Supreme Court but should continue its efforts to prevent access to abortion.
«We can not wait for the Supreme Court“, He stressed on Wednesday.
The bill passed with 7 votes in favor and 2 against by the relevant parliamentary committee and must now be approved by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
The bill amends current homicide laws and states that its goal is “to ensure the right to life and equal protection of all unborn children from the moment of fertilization, providing them with protection under the same laws that protect other people.”
The bill seems to allow the prosecution of anyone who undergoes abortion or performs this operation on the charge of homicide, his opponents complain.
«What this bill does is specifically modify the crime of homicide and the crime of causing bodily harm so that people, including pregnant women, can be prosecuted at any stage of pregnancy.“, Said Eli Schilling, a lawyer from Louisiana who represents clinics that provide medical services to women.
The bill states that the state should implement it “regardless of the decisions and judgments of the US Supreme Court»On abortion.
According to Chris Kaiser, executive director of the ACLU Civil Rights Organization in Louisiana, the bill would outlaw assisted reproduction and many forms of contraception as it states that the egg is considered a person before it is even fertilized. In an announcement yesterday, Thursday, he characterized the bill as “barbaric”.
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