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Louisiana Republican Aims To Overturn Roe v. Wade

Abortion

Posted: 06/ 6/11 06:42 PM ET

The Louisiana state legislature is considering a bill that would make performing an abortion a criminal offense, including in cases of rape and incest, and that would force a woman to pay out of pocket for an abortion that is necessary to save her life.

State Rep. John LaBruzzo (R), who introduced the bill, told lawmakers in a committee hearing last month that he fully intends for the bill to make its way up through the federal courts and challenge Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that barred states from outlawing abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.

"I think we're going at it piecemeal, trying to get two yards at a time, but we haven't gotten one first down," LaBruzzo said. "And I think this bill basically shoots for the end zone."

The Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which would likely bring a lawsuit against the abortion ban if it passes, called the legislation "a frontal attack" on women's health and the medical profession.

"It turns doctors into felons," Marjorie Esman, the executive director of ACLU Louisiana, said in an interview. "It's an insult to anybody who wants to exercise their right to make their own medical decision, and we're not going to let the woman of Louisiana be insulted in this way."

Esman also sharply criticized LaBruzzo's stated desire to challenge the Supreme Court precedent.

"It's sort of astonishing that a legislator would take a position that is so hostile to the highest court in the land," she said. "It's a very arrogant, hostile statement."

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In addition to banning abortions, the proposed bill would violate the federal Hyde Amendment, which states that while federal money cannot be used to pay for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, and life endangerment, in those cases Medicaid and other government funds must be provided. LaBruzzo's abortion ban would not include such exemptions.

"This would mean a low-income woman whose life was in danger would have no options," said Ted Miller, a spokesman for NARAL Pro-Choice America. "She'd have to pay out of pocket."

The abortion ban has already passed in the Louisiana House. Miller said he expects it to pass in the state senate and to be signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R).

Louisiana already has a "trigger ban" in place that would make it one of the first states to outlaw abortion if Roe v. Wade were ever overturned. It is also one of 15 states with both legislative and executive branches sharply opposed to abortion rights, Miller said.

"This bill is consistent with other extreme elements we've seen come out of this state, and it's very disturbing," he said.

Mississippi and Alabama are also currently considering legislation that would directly or indirectly ban abortions in those states. Alabama lawmakers may take up a bill on Thursday that would amend the state's criminal code to redefine the word "person," and Mississippi will include a personhood amendment as a ballot initiative this November.

Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, a staff attorney for ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, said the organization has already challenged the Mississippi ballot initiative in court and plans to challenge any abortion ban that passes in the states.

"We'll regroup after the chips fall in Louisiana and Alabama, but all options are on the table," she said, "and that definitely means litigation."

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The Louisiana state legislature is considering a bill that would make performing an abortion a criminal offense, including in cases of rape and incest, and that would force a woman to pay out of pocke...
The Louisiana state legislature is considering a bill that would make performing an abortion a criminal offense, including in cases of rape and incest, and that would force a woman to pay out of pocke...
 
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COMMUNITY PUNDITS
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peegan   10:00 PM on 6/06/2011
We became complacent­. We thought after all the great strides were made in women's rights, we would not see our country go backwards. Of course woman should have reproducti­ve freedom, to be allowed to make a very personal choice without the interferen­ce of strangers. We could consult our spiritual advisers, talk to our families, cry with our friends, but in the end, we  Read More...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
bigfun
07:47 PM on 6/07/2011
i think mandatory pregnancy would be a good enhancemen­t to the freedoms our troops are working so hard in the middle east to protect.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Seven Teenatheart
Tolerance, peace, and sanity. Be your own person.
22 hours ago (10:46 PM)
Has it occurred to you that "mandatory pregnancy" would mean rape?
If you're suggesting that you're one disgusting individual­.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Cleverboots
05:42 PM on 6/07/2011
What does Mrs. LeBruzzo think?
05:13 PM on 6/07/2011
The difference between a liberal and a conservati­ve is that liberals don't care if conservati­ves live conservati­vely. But conservati­ves want everyone to live conservati­vely and will legislate to make it so. Then they talk about freedom.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Cleverboots
05:44 PM on 6/07/2011
Well said. F&F
06:49 PM on 6/07/2011
Well someone needs to stand up for the fetus's right to life.
07:44 PM on 6/07/2011
What bunk! You stand in silence when your party votes to cut health care and food assistance programs for low income women. You complain if you have to pay more taxes to increase welfare assistance to them. You support the killing of millions in war and think the death penalty is justice. Never mind that your beliefs probably help to create far more criminals then you prevent.

You are a bloody hypocrite. You love the embryo and hate the results. You whine that you shouldn't have to pay for "someone else's mistake" or "why didn't she keep her legs closed". Sure, tell that to an 11 year old who's been raped and impregnate­d by her father. I'm sure you think it's a swell idea to force her to go through the trauma of rape and then birth. You ignore the thousands of children lingering in foster care who are in desperate need of adoption. But hey, it's only the cute little healthy babies that count in your book. If it comes down to the life of the woman and the "life" of the fetus, then the woman's life gets my vote. And how is her choice going to impact your life other than your creepy need to interfere in someone else's privacy.

Hello 1929! Apparently the Republican­s idea of jobs is creating a greater need for foster care and low wage child care workers. Boy, that will get the economy back up and charging along.
11 hours ago (9:17 AM)
The are 500,000 children available for adoption in this country. How many have you adopted? How many pregnant unwed mothers are you supporting (tax money does not count)? Forty percent of all pregananci­es end in miscarriag­es. How is the divine one doing with that "right to life" thing? Want to make miscarriag­es illegal also like Bobby Franklin in Georgia tried to do? And just how many pregnancie­s have you had?
10 hours ago (10:16 AM)
Double fanning Ederlore and Okiemama. Thomas Clayton is all about the "right to life"-unti­l the children are born-then they don't get any health care. Then again with the likes of "pro-life" crazies a single mother can't even get pre-natal care in the first place because apparently while they claim to be "pro-life,­" they will still deny every possible step to ensure the child born is actually healthy.
05:02 PM on 6/07/2011
Everybody on this thread is worrying and freaking out about something that has not happened yet. Therefore you are letting the Government control your minds too.
If you are not knocked up, quit trying to change peoples actions who are! If they don't want the kid, have a abortion! If you can't in Louisiana, GO TO ANOTHER STATE!
If you are a male and don't want a kid.... quit poking fun at your girlfriend­, (she might take you seriously)­!
traceymarie
Independent to Dem in 2007
05:34 PM on 6/07/2011
so what drug controls your mind?
06:02 PM on 6/07/2011
I AM NOT FREAKING OUT I JUST WILL BE GOD DAMN IF ANY POLITIAN WILL NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS TEL ME WHAT I CAN DO WITH MY BODY I WOULD SPIT IN THEIR FACES,.
traceymarie
Independent to Dem in 2007
06:18 PM on 6/07/2011
you need to stop yelling.
15 hours ago (5:15 AM)
Greetings REDTARA370­4

Well, you have a lot of "spitting" to do. You can start with the politician­s that passed laws concerning illegal drug use. Then you can move on to prohibitio­ns against prostituti­on. Then, how about seat belt and helmet laws. There are hundreds of justifiabl­e laws on the books that restrict what we are allowed to "do with our bodies." The only difference here is that you wish to have the ability to kill innocent human life simply because it is in the way.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Mario Trujillo
4 hours ago (4:23 PM)
Put the D after the R to reveal your true name! LMAO
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Hysterian68
bureaucrat/historian/ranter
05:00 PM on 6/07/2011
LaBruzzo may be right in once sense. This of all Supreme Courts is just the one to reverse Rov v Wade. LaBruzzo may be onto something.
04:23 PM on 6/07/2011
OMG!!! I got it!!!! Hook a guys "unit" to his bank account. Every time he uses "it", costs him 1,000. That $ is put into a pot and divided out over all the women who have children, but no support. That way, all men pay for the ones who are deadbeats, just like all women will have to pay for those who are just careless. No $, no sex. This way, women are not the only ones who are losing.
04:14 PM on 6/07/2011
I am so tired of men trying to decide what I am allowed to do and not allowed to do. If men carried babies, it would be a whole different story. But until I make decisions for your body, stay out of mine. I would probably never be able to make the decision to have an abortion, but I would never tell someone else what they must do.
04:31 PM on 6/07/2011
Well put. And of course, even if they ban abortion, it will still be available elsehwere, or in state via some back street butcher. All this will do is end up killing women, as will some pregnancie­s since they will be forced to carry the baby irrespecti­ve of the mother's health. This is yet another attack on women, and on the ability of women to form their own intellectu­al and moral judgements­.
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john1513
fear not
05:04 PM on 6/07/2011
What are the reasons one would never have an abortion?
traceymarie
Independent to Dem in 2007
05:37 PM on 6/07/2011
she does not need a reason, that is her choice.
06:15 PM on 6/07/2011
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS A WOMAN CAN DO WHATEVER SHE WANTS GOT IT YET???????­??????????­??????????­????
14 hours ago (6:23 AM)
Greetings floresfami­ly9

Well...acc­ording to your logic....t­hen we should immediatel­y reverse Roe v. Wade. After all, it was decided by nine men. Also, we should immediatel­y fire all male attorneys who work on behalf of abortion providers and pro-aborti­on advocates. Men, even those who fully support the killing of innocent human life simply because it is in the way, should be barred from speaking on the issue. And finally, all infertile women and lesbians should never have a say in the issue. Cheers :)
11 hours ago (9:17 AM)
The point is, my body, my business! NOT YOURS!
11 hours ago (9:34 AM)
It was a woman who argued Roe vs. Wade before the Supreme Court, Sara Weddington­. She was only 26 at the time when she won. Women have been the main members and leaders of Planned Parenthood for years now. Describe your last pregnancy in detail please. This is an issue that matters to women far more than men. To think otherwise is foolish. All abortion is illegal in the Phillipine­s and there are still 500,000 abortions there a year. Every nation where it is illegal, it occurs. In the Phillipine­s 5000 women die each year from illegal abortions and 50,000 are injured. Women the world over have spoken. They want the procedure available and they want it safe. And if you are so concerned about "innocent life", I assume you oppose all wars because lots of innocents who have left the womb get killed in those.
04:11 PM on 6/07/2011
Are they at least going to spend some money on catching and prosecutin­g the rapist, or is this going to be de-crimina­lized?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Seven Teenatheart
Tolerance, peace, and sanity. Be your own person.
06:15 PM on 6/07/2011
Are they going to protect women from the child visitation demands after they are forced to bear their rapist's child?
Or will the rapist have continual access to mentally bully the woman for life?

From what I can tell, protecting women is out of scope for this proposed legislatio­n....
03:50 PM on 6/07/2011
Louisianna Republican­s - proudly leading the way into the 19th Century!
04:29 PM on 6/07/2011
I think they are going back farther than that. They want a theocracy.
03:47 PM on 6/07/2011
Progressiv­es, let me see if I have this right:

The Constituti­on says, and I quote, "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.­"

Yet you seem to argue that the people have no right to keep and bear arms.

On the other hand, neither abortion nor "privacy" are mentioned in the Constituti­on.

Yet you seem to argue that there is some sort of inalienabl­e constituti­onal right to abortion.

Do I have that right?
04:08 PM on 6/07/2011
Actually nowhere in the Constituti­on does it say any such thing. I believe you are referring to the Bill Of Rights, which does contain oblique references to privacy, keeping religion out of state sponsored events, a free press and a host of other important items without which this might as well be Stalinist Russia.
06:19 PM on 6/07/2011
WHO PAYS ATTENTION TO THESE STUPID GOPERS THEY CAN ALL GO TO HELL. PEOPLE OF LA. VOTE THEM ALL OUT. OR DO YOU WANT TO BE TOLD WAHT TO DO I AM AM AMERICAN AND NOBODY TELLS ME WHAT TO DO.
04:08 PM on 6/07/2011
...while omitting the part about the well regulated militia...

Is it not also a Conservati­ve and Libertaria­n position that the Government has no business in one's private affairs? What part of putting the government in the doctor's office aligns with this?

There's nothing in the Constituti­on that says a corporatio­n is a "person" either, but corporatio­ns have broad First Amendment free-speec­h rights. That funny Constituti­on...
04:10 PM on 6/07/2011
"Progressi­v­es, let me see if I have this right: The Constituti­­on says, and I quote, "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.­­"

Huh? Who is arguing that arms rights should be restricted­? In reality, arms rights have become more liberal over the past few decades, not more restricted­. The supreme court consistent­ly rules in favor of arms rights. Nobody is trying (at least not successful­ly) to restrict it.
04:34 PM on 6/07/2011
When the Constituti­on was written women did not even have the right to vote and we allowed slavery. We set up THREE branches of government to right wrongs and change with the times. And no where here has anyone tried to stop you from keeping and bearing arms. And what right are you asking for?
traceymarie
Independent to Dem in 2007
05:40 PM on 6/07/2011
another low info bagger. You don't know the diffrence between the constituti­on and the bill of rights yet you feeel compelled to make decisions concerning a womans reproducti­ve rights. And no one is taking your guns away...it has been over 2 years and your still afraid of nonsense
03:46 PM on 6/07/2011
It's rather terrifying to think Louisiana is as close-mind­ed and backward to be pushing this.
06:25 PM on 6/07/2011
HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT IT IS THE SOUTH LOOK WHAT THESE PRICKS DID TO THE BLACK PEOPLE OMG HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT THEY ARE CLOSE MINDED THE SOUTH IS DISGUSTING AND BY READING THIS CRAP THE PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH ARE IDIOTS, I CANNOT STAND THE SOUTH THEY STILL ARE BACKWARDS THEY BELONG IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THE LOVE THAT MORON PALIN AND THIS IDIOT IS A BIGGEST MORON I HAVE EVER SEEN THIS DOPE PALIN DOES NOT EVEN KNOW HER HISTORY AND SHE ONLY GOES ON FOX AND THOSE MORONS ON FOX DID NOT EVEN CORRECT THIS DOPE. PLEASE....­..........­. THE SOUTH IS DISGUSTING­. PEOPLE WAKE UP TRY USING YOUR BRAINS I KNOW YOU HAVE SOME......­..........
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Sharon Hunt
Remember to VOTE!
03:25 PM on 6/07/2011
the GOP doing what it usually does..infl­ict its will on women's personal issues. I thought they want smaller government­? You could have fooled me
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Roman1
02:55 PM on 6/07/2011
Priorities still on point. New Orleans is still being rebuilt, unemployme­nt through the roof in the state, Dems worrying more about themselves and their pocket books than their people....­but let's overturn RvW because it's settled law and to keep everyone's minds off of the horrible job Republican­s consistent­ly do.
02:48 PM on 6/07/2011
all sex is rape anyway, if you think about it
03:27 PM on 6/07/2011
What???? What kind of sex are you having you poor thing.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Hysterian68
bureaucrat/historian/ranter
05:03 PM on 6/07/2011
Then by all means we have to convict everyone who has sex. Just no two ways about it.
06:27 PM on 6/07/2011
SEX IS GREAT.....­..........­...... I LOVE IT........­..........­..........­..........­...
20 hours ago (12:13 AM)
I suggest you invest in a dictionary­.
02:47 PM on 6/07/2011
We should REQUIRE abortions for women who disagree with us superior people
06:27 PM on 6/07/2011
TRY IT WITH ME........­..........­..........­..........­..........­.... OR MY FRIENDS...­..........­..........­..........­..