Lawmakers in Louisiana are pushing for a bill that would completely ban abortions in this US state, giving constitutional rights to “all unborn children from the moment of fertilization”, under which abortions would be considered homicide.
The move came on Wednesday, two days after a draft Supreme Court ruling overturned a landmark 1973 ruling 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 noted that it did not reflect the judges’ final decision, which will be announced by the end of June.
The Louisiana bill is one of dozens of lawmakers in the conservative United States pushing for restricted access to abortion and a sign 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 lawmaker Danny McCormick, a Republican who introduced the Abortion Abolition Bill in March, said the state should not wait for the Supreme Court’s final ruling but should continue its efforts to block access.
“We can not wait for the Supreme Court,” he said 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 is doing is specifically modifying 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 Ellie Schilling, a Louisiana lawyer who represented 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” regarding abortion.
According to Chris Kaiser, a member of the Louisiana Civil Rights Organization (ACLU), the bill would outlaw assisted reproduction and many forms of contraception as it states that the egg is considered a person after fertilization and before implantation.
In an announcement yesterday, Thursday, he characterized the bill as “barbaric”.
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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