(WWL.com)
A House approved constitutional amendment stating there is no legal right to an abortion in Louisiana heads to the Senate floor. If it gets two-thirds approval by the Senate, the measure would share an October ballot with the gubernatorial primary.
Monroe Representative Katrina Jackson says her legislation will allow voters to show the rest of the nation that Louisiana is the “number one pro-life state.”
“It’s gonna be the first time that our citizens get to vote on an issue that we always vote on. This will show the world, and those who matter most, those who fight for life, that Louisiana is pro-life holistically.”
The measure would only have a practical effect if Roe vs. Wade were to be overturned in the US Supreme Court.
New Orleans Abortion Fund Outreach Manager Steffani Bangel spoke in opposition, saying the proposal’s passage would endanger the right for women to have control of their own bodies.
“Having the right to access safe, legal abortion, creates a society in which it’s members are truly free. Bodily autonomy is liberation. When a person lacks the right, or ability to control their reproductive health, they lose control of their freedom.”
Opponents argue the wording of the measure does not cover protections in the case of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life. Jackson disagrees, saying the legislature would still have the right to add any exceptions in a post-Roe world.
Supporter and Shreveport Senator John Milkovich says the constitutional amendment would blunt pro-choice lawsuit’s effectiveness at a state level.
“I think this might be the most significant and monumental piece of legislation that I will have the opportunity to vote for in this term.”