During the 2014 state legislative session, which begins March 10th and concludes on June 2nd, Louisiana Right to Life will be actively pushing legislation forward to protect women and unborn babies. In addition, Louisiana Right to Life will work to stop anti-life legislation.
Exclusive Footage of Governor Jindal Signing HB 388 and HB 305
HB 305: Strict Regulation on Abortion Facilities Act; Authored by Representative Frank Hoffman (R – West Monroe)
H.B. 305 provides that no individual or organization that performs elective abortion or its affiliates may provide instruction or materials in public elementary and secondary schools or in charter schools that receive state funding.
HB 388: Unsafe Abortion Protection Act; Authored by Representative Katrina Jackson (D-Monroe)
The Unsafe Abortion Protection Act has three main components:
HB 388 will require abortion providers to have admitting privileges within 30 miles of a local hospital. The surgical instruments and procedures used to forcibly terminate a healthy pregnancy subject women to dangerous risks that have often resulted in death and other serious complications. Louisiana law requires surgeons in facilities classified as “ambulatory surgical centers” to have admitting privileges at local hospitals so that the physician can admit and treat his patient if an emergency arises. The proposed law would require the same standard for surgical abortion providers.
HB 388 will clarify that informed consent protections apply to both surgical abortion, as well as to RU-486 chemical abortion. This portion of the bill clarifies that physicians in both private offices as well as in licensed outpatient abortion facilities owe women the same informed consent protections and 24-hour reflection period, whether the abortion is surgical or chemical. These protections include a department of health booklet that depicts the development of the unborn child, the short and long-term medical risks of abortion, information on agencies that provide alternatives, and the opportunity to view an ultrasound and hear the heartbeat of the unborn child.
HB 388 will require doctors who perform more than five abortions a year to maintain proper licensing. Current Louisiana law allows physicians to perform 60 abortions a year before being subject to the health and safety inspections that are required of “licensed outpatient abortion facilities.” Because every woman is entitled to the protection of regulated safety standards, this bill will require licensure and inspections for physicians who perform five or more abortions per year.
HB 1262 by Rep Ivey provides women with life-saving information about the psychological impact of abortion and the dangers of the sex trafficking industry to women prior to an abortion. HB 1254 was signed into law by Gov. Jindal on June 9th.
HB 1254 by Rep. Simon prohibits insurance companies from denying treatment based on a person’s life expectancy or condition. Plans should cover any treatment or service recommended for a terminally ill patient in the same manner as if the patient had not been declared terminally ill. HB 1254 essentially disallows the terminally ill state from becoming a discriminatory factor in the coverage decision. HB 1254 passed overwhelming in the LA House and Senate.
2014 Anti-Life Legislation:
HB 187 Provides for Surrogacy in Louisiana:
This bill has the unintended consequence of creating a new baby broker industry in Louisiana by enacting a web of regulations that sanction commercialized surrogate pregnancy – sometimes referred to as “wombs for rent.”
Here are a few key facts about HB 187
Similar bills pass in other states show that this legislation gives rise to a new industry that profits surrogate brokers and lawyers who inevitably end up fighting over issues such as coerced abortion of imperfect unborn children as recently occurred in Connecticut. See CNN, “Surrogate offered $10,000 to abort baby” (March 6, 2013).
All children that are born via surrogacy or any other method are entitled to the same love and respect due to every member of the human family. As people of life, we understand the emotional desire that underlies surrogacy efforts.
There are other options for couples who experience infertility that do not involve the commodification of women and children to be bought and sold via third-party pregnancy.
The current legislation that allows financial compensation under the guise of “reasonable living expenses” allows paying our young healthy daughters to undergo artificially induced pregnancy, and does not exclude paid abortion if the unborn child doesn’t meet some standard of perfection (as provided in standard surrogacy contracts).
On March 25th, the Surrogacy Bill, HB 187, passed the House Civil Law & Procedure Committee adopted overwelmingly the pro-life amendments to HB 187. As the bill stands now, contracts to govern “altruistic” surrogacy will be possibly, but commercialed surrogacy and forced abortion will be prohibited. To find out more details read our press release.
