The 2019 Session of the Louisiana Legislature was a tremendous pro-life success! The session was highlighted by the passage of the Love Life Constitutional Amendment (heading to the ballot in November of 2020) and the Unborn Child Heartbeat Protection Act.
Below is a list of key legislation we supported, opposed, or were just monitoring.
Pro-Life Legislation We Supported
- HB 425: The Love Life Constitutional Amendment
- Authored by Rep. Katrina Jackson, D
- Passed the Legislature by a 2/3 margin and sent to Secretary of State as Act 447.
- The amendment will be on the November 3 2020 ballot where it will need a majority vote to be placed in the Louisiana Constitution.
- This amendment ensures that there is no right to abortion or the taxpayer funding of abortion in our state constitution. Learn more at at www.LoveLifeVoteYes.com
- HB 484: Protection of Patient Records at Abortion Facilities Act
- Authored Rep. Raymond Crews, R
- Passed the Legislature and Signed by Governor as Act 435
- Establishes requirements for abortion facilities to preserve medical records of women upon whom abortions are performed. Especially for minors who are having an abortion due to sexual assault, it is crucial that abortion facilities have these medical record details and are required to report the abuse.
- HB 133: Chemical Abortion Regulation Act
- Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R
- Passed the Legislature and Signed by the Governor as Act 376
- This legislation ensures that the licensing and regulation of abortion will apply equally to providers of all methods of abortion, including both surgical and chemical abortions.
- Current law says that providers of only surgical abortion need to be licensed for regulation as an “Outpatient Abortion Facility.” Therefore, providers of chemical abortions have a loophole. This law plugs that loophole and places the same standards on chemical and surgical abortions.
- SB (Senate Bill) 221: Abortion Physician Disclosure Act
- Sen. Beth Mizell, R
- Passed the Legislature and Signed by the Governor as Act 198
- Provides women at abortion facilities clear information about the qualifications and disciplinary history of abortion physicians.
- This year, an abortionist, Dr. Kevin Work, was caught violating his medical suspension by working in an abortion clinic. The truth is that abortion facilities hire doctors who often can’t work anywhere else because of their lack of qualifications or history of malpractice and disciplinary infractions. Don’t let abortion clinics continue to cut corners in the interest of profit and not patients!
- SB 184: Unborn Child Heartbeat Protection Act
- Sen. John Milkovich, D
- Passed the Legislature and Signed by the Governor as Act 31
- Prohibits the abortion of an unborn human being with a detectable heartbeat.
- We know that while life begins at conception, no one should still be able to deny that a heartbeat is an obvious sign of life! In fact, many women do not realize they are pregnant until after their baby’s heart starts beating.
- SB 238: Trafficking at Abortion Facility Prevention Act
- Sen. Beth Mizell, R
- Passed the Legislature and Signed by the Governor as Act 280
- To require health practitioners and abortion clinic employees to report human trafficking and trafficking of children for sexual purposes to law enforcement.
- We have a major problem with human trafficking in Louisiana, and the connection between human trafficking and abortion should be obvious. This legislation would help rescue more women and girls in the human trafficking industry, and save them from more forced abortions!
- HB 108: Safe Haven Baby Box Act
- Rep. Steve Pylant, R
- The bill was tabled in Senate Health and Welfare Committee so that the proposal could be further studied before the 2020 Session.
- Authorizes the installation and use of newborn safety devices at infant drop-off sites designated in the Safe Haven Law, which allows mothers to safely give up their baby within 30 days to authorities.
- The Safe Haven Law helps mothers in crisis to not hurt their newborn babies, and instead put them in safe hands! We need to make sure that this process is the most effective and safe that it can possibly be.
- SB 5: Making Diapers Tax Exempt
- Senator J.P. Morrell, D
- The bill died in Conference Committee
- SB 5 would have exempted diapers and feminine hygiene products from sales and use tax.
Legislation We Opposed
- Ratification of the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment
- SCR 2 (Senator Morrell) and HCR 2 (Rep. Carter)
- SCR 2 Died on the Senate Floor and HCR 2 was never considered in committee
- While we respect the worthy intentions of those legislators sponsoring and supporting the ERA, we must oppose the ratification of the 1972 ERA because it would cement the policy of abortion-on-demand in our nation. In fact, a leading organization supporting abortion, “NARAL Pro-Choice America,” recently said “With its ratification, the ERA would reinforce the constitutional right to abortion by clarifying that the sexes have equal rights, which would require judges to strike down anti-abortion laws…”
- In the event a future ERA would be introduced in Congress, we would support an “abortion neutrality” clause to address these concerns. However, the language of the 1972 ERA, as referenced by these resolutions, cannot be changed by the Louisiana Legislature.
