BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Right to Life is proud to herald the successful passage of a diverse package of life-protective laws this legislative session, including:

• HB 449, the first in the nation “Adoption Option Act,” will require abortion clinics to give women concrete information to make an adoption plan so that the mother is empowered to avoid the trauma of abortion and choose life for her child with a loving family;
• HB 891 enhances existing state policy preventing taxpayer funds from being used directly or indirectly by abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood;
• SB 181 provides an additional provision to Louisiana’s current trigger law by prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks gestation in the event the same Mississippi law is upheld in the U.S. Fifth Circuit. This provision is in addition to a 2006 trigger that will ban all abortion once the Supreme Court returns the issue to the states.
• HB 273 authorizes the Department of Heath to promulgate regulations that the bodies of aborted unborn children are given dignified burial in accord with the treatment of unclaimed human corpses.
• HB 297 addresses the creation of materials giving resources for children prenatally diagnosed with genetic conditions such as Down Syndrome;
• SB 534 improves state law protecting against forced abortion by creating the crime of coerced abortion. No woman should be forced to undergo the trauma of abortion against her will;
• SB 325, in response to past situations where abortion facilities have falsified patient records, strengthens state law with penalties for the falsification of abortion reporting and patient records.

Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life, said “The Louisiana Legislature, across party lines, again showed its commitment to the dignity of human life, the selfless option of adoption, and the health and safety of women this session by passing a variety of pro-life laws. We look forward to Gov. Edwards signing these bills into law, and we applaud him for his unwavering support of life. Louisiana is a state that believes every human life, born or unborn, is worthy of our protection. We anticipate a day when all lives in Louisiana are protected under law.”

Dorinda Bordlee, Senior Counsel for the Bioethics Defense Fund and legal advisor to Louisiana Right to Life, said, “The Bioethics Defense Fund was honored to provide pro bono legal consultation on this package of pro-life bills. We especially commend Louisiana for passing our model legislation known as the “Adoption Option Act,” which gives pregnant women who are not ready to parent concrete first steps to consider an alternative that will not subject her body and her baby to the trauma of abortion.”