Gov. John Bel Edwards signed sweeping legislation Tuesday that would criminalize abortion in Louisiana and ban the procedure in nearly all circumstances from the moment of implantation if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The legislation does not include exceptions for rape and incest.
Senate Bill 342 by Sen. Katrina Jackson (D-Monroe) updates Louisiana’s 2006 abortion “trigger law” and more than a dozen other prospective abortion restrictions and is the product of lawmakers’ close collaboration with the anti-abortion group Louisiana Right to Life.
The bill stiffens the criminal penalties for abortion providers already outlined in state law, doubling the maximum sentences to 10 and 15 years, depending on when an abortion is performed during a pregnancy.
Pregnant women are explicitly excluded from prosecution for the “crime of abortion,” but critics of the bill say its broadened definition of personhood could expose doctors and patients alike to prosecution for homicide and dozens of other offenses in the state’s criminal code.
Read more at WWNO.
I've signed SB 342 by Sen. Jackson. While this legislation is similar to that passed in 2006, which is effective upon Roe v. Wade being overturned, SB 342 expands the exceptions in the 2006 legislation to include instances of medical futility & ectopic pregnancies. #lagov
— Gov. John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) June 21, 2022
I personally think it wise for legislators to put a hold on any ideas regarding abortion laws until some time has passed following decisions not yet decided by SCOTUS. Somehow as a nation, we need to put a stop to the use of every hot issue as a “crisis” that must be weaponized and/or politicized. Some might call that a “cooling off period.”