BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana lawmakers have advanced a bill that would allow women who terminate their pregnancies to be charge with murder.
House Bill 813, the "Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act of 2022," would redefine a "person" as any individual human being from the moment of fertilization, which would extend all homicide laws to the unborn.
The bill would also disregard the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade, regardless of whether it is overturned, as well as any federal laws, regulations or court orders that would "deprive an unborn child of the right to life."
"We cannot wait for the Supreme Court to confirm that innocent babies have a right to life in Louisiana," the bill's author, Rep. Danny McCormick, told The Advocate.
The bill was approved by the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice in a 7-2 vote on May 4. It is scheduled to be debated on the House floor on Thursday, May 12.
Louisiana Right to Life, a prominent anti-abortion organization in Louisiana, called the bill "unnecessary," saying that women who have abortions should not be treated as criminals.
"Instead, we should hold accountable the individuals performing the abortion or selling or providing the chemical abortion drugs," the organization said in a statement on Friday.
The organization said Louisiana's existing law in the 2006 Human Life Protection Act would ban abortion when Roe v. Wade was overturned.
"Because HB 813 does not exempt women from criminalization and is unnecessary to protect the life of babies from abortion, Louisiana Right to Life does not support HB 813," the organization said.
The national anti-abortion organization Susan B. Anthony List echoed that statement, expressing concern that the law would punish women who are coerced into getting abortions.
"We strongly oppose HB 813," SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said.
If the bill is approved by Louisiana's House and Senate, it will go to desk of Democratic Gov. Jon Bel Edwards. The pro-life governor has not said whether he would veto the bill.
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