This morning House Bill (HB) 245 by Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman was defeated in the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee. This dangerous pro-abortion constitutional amendment that would have legalized abortion up until birth in Louisiana and require tax-dollars to fund abortion.
There were quite a few amazing pro-life witnesses who testified against this dangerous legislation this morning.
Jennifer Maggio, CEO of The Life of a Single Mom, shared with the committee “In 1996, I sat alone in a government-issued apartment, huddled on the bathroom floor suicidal. I was a few weeks pregnant and was overwhelmed with the thought of how I could raise another child alone.” She continued, “I made a call… to an abortion clinic in Jackson, Mississippi. Praise God I never went through with it. Today, the two children I raised as a teenager are now grown, college-educated professionals with families of their own.” Maggio, through her organization, has served over one million single mothers since the organization’s founding. She continued, “I could have never founded this organization or served that number of mothers had I not once been a young, single mom contemplating what to do, but ultimately choosing life.”
Sean Corcoran of Lake Charles also testified against this bill, sharing that, decades ago, his life was forever changed when his then-girlfriend had an abortion without his knowledge. This led to Sean spiraling into years of drug and alcohol addiction after finding out as he tried to cope with the pain of lost fatherhood. Later, Sean was connected with professional help and healing. Sean has now dedicated his life to giving a voice for fathers who have no say in the lives of their children. His child would now be 27 years old.
Similarly, a young man named Hopkins Inzina, who is only 9-years old, bravely testified before the committee against the bill. “My mom could have been aborted, but was not. I am glad she was not, because she is the best mom. If she was [aborted], none of my brothers or sisters would be here, including me,” Inzina said. You see, Mrs. Inzina, Hopkins’ mother, was adopted. Hopkins is alive today because of his birth grandmother’s courageous decision to make an adoption plan for her baby! Take a look at his amazing testimony:
Dr. Kim Hardy, a recently retired OB-GYN from Lafayette also testified against HB 245, saying “I have delivered almost 7,000 babies in my career and ironically at one time was pro-choice… Even the people in the toughest cases can continue their pregnancy and have a baby.” He continued, “Abortion degrades women.”
State Representative John Wyble shared toward the end of the testimonies that he received 719 emails against the amendment. He said he did not receive a single email in support of it.
We still have a number of important pieces of legislation that we are supporting and a few more pro-abortion bills that we are working to defeat. Here’s a short review of our priorities this legislative session:
Legislation we are supporting:
Main legislation we are opposing (in addition to HB 245):
You can learn more about the session at www.ProLifeLouisiana.org/session.
