A bill that recently passed out of a State House committee on a 7-2 vote that would deem abortion murder is set for a House floor hearing next Thursday. The legislation is grabbing headlines nationwide, with abortion rights supporters saying it’s the future of abortion law in many states run by Republicans.
The legislation by Oil City Republican State Representative Danny McCormick would allow those who get an abortion and those who perform abortions to be charged with murder. The bill would set personhood as being at the moment of fertilization.
WWL reached out to a dozen metro region House lawmakers for comment on the bill Thursday. New Orleans Representative Mandie Landry, who today announced she is running for the New Orleans Senate seat vacated by Karen Carter Peterson, was the only one to speak with us.
Landry told WWL a lawyer at Wednesday’s committee hearing laid out the specifics.
“This is a homicide statute. It specifically says anyone who has an abortion, seeks an abortion, helps anyone with an abortion is going to be arrested and charged with murder,” said Landry. “It also outlaws birth control, IVF (in vitro fertilization), and potentially criminalizes miscarriage.”
The bill would be unconstitutional under current abortion-related law, but a leaked US Supreme Court memo suggests the legal framework barring it is set to be overturned this year. Abortion rights supporters say similar legislation is popping up across the country, and more of it could be coming in Republican-controlled states should Roe vs. Wade be overturned.
“For decades now the anti-choice movement said that no they are about helping women, not hurting them, but we always knew that this was the end result and this is what a lot of extremists on the far right want,” said Landry.