Louisiana House approves pro-life bill guaranteeing no constitutional ‘right’ to abortion

Tennessee’s Amendment 1, which voters approved in 2014 and which faced legal challenges for four years following before the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it to stand, was controversial because it eliminated the so-called “right to abortion” from the state constitution. Now, Louisiana lawmakers are seeking to do the same in their state.

Pro-life Democratic Representative Katrina Jackson’s Love Life Amendment — HB 425 — “stipulates that no provision of the constitution protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.” The bill — which contains no exceptions — just successfully passed the House by a vote of 80-10. It now awaits a vote in the Senate. NOLA.com notes that there, the bill “needs a two-thirds vote to gain approval. The amendment would then be placed on the Nov. 16, 2019, ballot, at which point voters will decide whether to approve the measure.”

Bill sponsor Katrina Jackson is pro-life, and has been vocal about her position, even speaking at the 46th annual March for Life this year. “In Louisiana, it doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican, black or white—we fight for life,” she said at the event. Louisiana’s governor, John Bel Edwards, is also a pro-life Democrat.

Louisiana Right to Life is backing the bill, and has stated that polling indicates 70 percent of Louisiana residents are pro-life.

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According to a report from National Right to Life News, Jackson said the Love Life Amendment would ensure that “we will never become like New York, which recently legalized abortion up to the very moment before birth. The citizens of our state love life, and it’s time we place this love at the heart of our state. I look forward to giving the citizens of our state the opportunity to vote to protect life.”

Pro-abortion groups object to the bill, claiming it is unconstitutional. They are also concerned that it could further limit Medicaid-funded abortions for poor minority women, reports NOLA.com.

NRTL notes, “The Love Life Amendment will be supported by a new coalition known as the ‘Louisiana Pro-Life Amendment Coalition’ led by Louisiana Right to Life, and its campaign will be known as ‘Love Life Vote Yes.’ The Love Life Vote Yes website, which should be published soon, will be www.LoveLifeVoteYes.com.”

NOLA.com points out that Louisiana already has a “trigger law” which would make abortion illegal in the event that Roe v. Wade is ever overturned. Five others states have similar laws.

Watch a hearing on the bill below:

Louisiana HB 425 (2019) by Representative Katrina Jackson - House Committee

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