Louisiana passes abortion ban

OB/GYN News, July 15, 2006 by Mary Ellen Schneider

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) last month signed into law a bill that would ban most abortions in the state in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade or the U.S. Constitution is amended giving states the right to outlaw abortion. The new law would make exceptions in order to save the life of the mother or to prevent "substantial risk of death due to a physical condition, or to prevent the serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant women." However, the law does not allow for abortions in the case of rape or incest.

If Roe v. Wade were overturned or the constitution amended, the ban would go into effect, and physicians who performed abortions would face 1-10 years of prison with hard labor and fines of $10,000-$100,000. "I, along with many other pro-life legislators, had hoped this bill would include special protections for women in cases of rape and incest," Gov. Blanco said in a statement. "In the end, these exceptions did not pass, but the central provision of the bill supports and reflects my personal beliefs."