State legislators, local lawmakers, and state leaders react to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a Mississippi abortion law which in effect, overturns Roe V. Wade.
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“Today’s decision recognizes that an unborn child has a right to life. Being pro-life means being pro-healthy futures – a philosophy I carry with me in the Senate. This is a deeply emotional issue for many Americans, no matter which side one stands on, but it is now up to individual states to enact their own policies,” said U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy.
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise issued the following statement saying in part:
“What a historic day this is, and what a great victory for life. And it's not just a victory for life, it's a victory for millions of people who have been part of this pro-life movement for decades, who have gone to state legislatures, who have gotten involved in the political process, who've prayed, and prayers were answered today. The decades of work [are] celebrated today.
“But the work just begins now to go and protect life even more because the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, correcting that flawed decision, finally allows states and Congress to protect life in ways that we never were able to for the last 50 years. That debate was silenced during the years Roe v. Wade was the law of the land, but that debate just begins again in so many places in this country."
New Orleans Councilman Jared Brossett called the SCOTUS decision a "dismantling of women’s right".
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New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno calls the Supreme Court's decision an erosion of rights.
In a joint statement with Councilwoman Helena Moreno, New Orleans Councilmember Lesli Harris says:
“We believe there are open legal questions about the automatic-trigger provisions of Louisiana's anti-abortion laws, which, unlike virtually all other trigger states, do not contain any certification mechanism for determining whether the triggering event has occurred and when the bans take effect. Given that the Dobbs case has been remanded to the District Court for further proceedings and has not been reduced to a final judgment, we question whether the abortion ban is currently in effect. Given these legal uncertainties, but predominantly due to the dangerous implications to women's health, we have urged our District Attorney Jason Williams not to prosecute patients or physicians. We appreciate him emphatically agreeing to our request. Today is a sad day for our country."
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry says that his office will uphold Louisiana's abortion law.
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. Today, along with millions across Louisiana and America, I rejoice with my departed Mom and the unborn children with her in Heaven!.. My office and I will do everything in our power to ensure the laws of Louisiana that have been passed to protect the unborn are enforceable, even if we have to go back to court.”
Mayor LaToya Cantrell today issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down Roe V. Wade:
"This ruling strikes down a half-century of precedent, settled law and most importantly, access to safe and responsible medical care for millions of women. A half-century of women empowered to make their own healthcare decisions has now been tossed away by a half-dozen activist, fundamentalist Supreme Court Justices obsessed with driving a political agenda. A half-century of women being able to access safe medical care who now find themselves at risk of bodily harm, and even death, as this ruling reopens the 'Back Alley' for business," said New Orleans mayor Latoya Cantrell.
"We mourn not just for the future this heartbreaking and dangerous ruling creates for the women of today but also for the barriers and burdens this reprehensible ruling creates for the women of tomorrow. Our daughters and granddaughters deserve better than to grow up in a country where the most personal of decisions are regulated by politicians."
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Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. released the following statement which reads in part:
“For Louisianians, we have entered a dark new stage of our state’s history. New restrictions have been triggered outlawing all abortion in our state, with minimal exceptions for safety or circumstance. Even under Roe we were already failing our mothers – the United States has the worst maternal mortality rate among developed nations, and Black women face disproportionately terrible outcomes.
“It breaks my heart that those who already had the fewest resources in Louisiana and many other states are now left without any options at all. This is especially true for low-income, Black, Indigenous, and women of color in our state who already faced devastatingly high rates of maternal mortality and poor maternal health outcomes.”
New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond reacts to the Supreme Court’s decision by saying in part in a statement:
“We give thanks to God that the injustice of abortion on demand has come to an end, and that we as a society will have the opportunity to save more innocent unborn lives…”
As a pro-life Democrat, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards supports the Supreme Court’s decision and clarifies what the state’s modified “trigger law” means for Louisiana.
In his statement, Governor Edwards said in part:
“I asked the Legislature to include exceptions for rape and incest in the legislation most recently passed. While the bill that passed expanded the exceptions from the 2006 law to include instances of medical futility and treatment of ectopic pregnancies, these important exceptions were not included… As I have said many times before, I believe women who are survivors of rape or incest should be able determine whether to continue with a pregnancy that is the result of a criminal act. And, to be clear, the legislation I recently signed protects all forms of contraception, including emergency contraception, which remains fully legal and available in Louisiana.”