Abortion

Louisiana Bill Would Jail Patients for Abortions

Louisiana Republicans want abortion to be a homicide—despite admitting it's unconstitutional.

John Bel Edwards, the anti-abortion Democratic governor of Louisiana
Louisiana's anti-abortion Democratic governor John Bel Edwards has, thus far, supported abortion restrictions in the state. Josh Brasted/Getty Images for Resilience Force

When news of the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade broke last Tuesday, protesters gathered across the country to voice their dissent—including in Louisiana. A day later, state lawmakers ignored those cries, advancing a bill that, if passed, would criminalize abortion as homicide.

Last Wednesday, Louisiana HB 813 advanced out of legislative committee and was sent to the full House for debate, “despite at least one of the representatives voting in favor acknowledging the bill is unconstitutional,” the Daily Advertiser reported.

Because fuck the Constitution, right?

The bill establishes fetal “personhood” and criminalizes all abortions as homicide “without regard to the opinions and judgments of the Supreme Court of the United States in Roe v. Wade.”

Because, apparently, fuck the highest court in the land too!

Louisiana HB 813 is not “just” an abortion ban. This is an entire revocation of pregnant people’s rights and the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes. Everything from miscarriage care to IVF will be affected—and pregnant people will have no say in any of it.

As it stands, the bill has no exceptions: Not for rape, incest, or the life of the pregnant person—no matter how old they are. But Louisiana lawmakers have already made it pretty clear they don’t care about their youth, having introduced HB 989 earlier this year, which further complicates the judicial bypass process and requires the order to expire after ten days even if it is granted.

Oh, and people of color? Black women? The people who make up about 42 percent of Louisiana’s population and 72 percent of those receiving abortions? They’ll have no say in the matter either.

With a GOP-controlled legislature and an anti-abortion Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, there’s little to stop this bill turning Louisiana into a surveillance state where pregnant people have fewer rights than fetuses.

This post was adapted from a Twitter thread.