BATON ROUGE, La. — Emotions were high as lawmakers heard powerful testimony at the State Capitol on Tuesday.
A New Orleans man spoke before the Criminal Justice Committee about his wife being carjacked in 2013.
“Fortunately, she did not get pregnant during her rape, and I say fortunately because in the aftermath we could barely keep ourselves alive," the man said to the committee, “She was kidnapped by three teenagers, 15, 16 and 18, put in the back of a car and robbed and gang rapped for over an hour, when they were done, they just pushed her out on the side of the road.”
He spoke in support of a bill that would have given victims of rape and incest - 17 years and younger - the choice to have an abortion.
It was one of four abortion bills that was killed in committee.
Louisiana Right to Life, an anti-abortion organization, is calling it a win.
“Rape and incest has always existed and abortion has failed to solve violence towards women," Louisiana Right to Life Communications Director Sarah Zagorski said.
A man who said he was conceived during rape spoke against the bill.
“I don’t think I’m a son of a rapist. I think I’m the son of a southern women who said yes in the face of a tragedy," the man said.
Rep. Alonzo Knox (D-New Orleans) was outspoken during the meeting.
“Every time this conversation comes up, it triggers me," Knox said, “Somebody somewhere wants to force a 9, 10, 11, 12, 13-year-old child to have a baby from the monster, that evil devil, that took her innocence away.”
Knox's vote in support of the bill fell short. It failed 4-7.
Rep. Dodie Horton (R - Haugton), who voted against the bill, said she would support the death penalty for rapists.
“I’d love to hang them from the highest tree. If it was in my power to do so, but I cannot condone killing the innocent," Horton said.
The committee also killed three more abortion bills. They would have clarified the language of Louisiana's abortion ban, adding protection for physicians who do not intend to induce abortion by prescribing certain medications and what it means to have a "nonviable" pregnancy.
Doctors, including New Orleans Health Department Director, Jennifer Avegno, said there is fear and uncertainty in the medical community due to the lack of clarity.
Abortion has been illegal in Louisiana since Roe v. Wade was overturned, except in extreme medical circumstances.
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