Louisiana Measures Would Ban Most Abortions, Pro-Life Attorney Worried

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 15, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Louisiana Measures Would Ban Most Abortions, Pro-Life Attorney Worried Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 15, 2006

Baton Rouge, LA (LifeNews.com) — The Louisiana state legislature heads back into session on March 27 and two lawmakers have introduced measures that would ban virtually all abortions in the state. However, a pro-life attorney is concerned that the bills are premature because the Supreme Court is pro-abortion.

Senator Ben Nevers, a Democrat, has filed paperwork for a bill that would ban all abortions except in the very rare instance of danger to the life of the mother.

Meanwhile, Rep. Tim Burns, a Republican, has introduced a similar bill but it would also include exceptions for rape and incest as long as the abortion is performed within 13 weeks of conception. It would essentially prohibit late-term abortions in such cases.

"In my opinion, (the court) made an error and they need to revisit it," Never told the Associated Press about the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade. "I just believe it’s long overdue for us to make a statement in Louisiana that nothing is more valuable than human life."

AP reports Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, has not taken a position on the bills.

However, Dorinda Bordlee, a pro-life attorney based in New Orleans who is the president of the Bioethics Defense Fund, said she’s concerned the bills are putting the cart before the horse. She’s worried they will get to the Supreme Court only to be declared unconstitutional.

She said abortion bans won’t have success until at least one more pro-life vote is on the high court.

Bordlee told AP that she hopes lawmakers would look at other bills to limit abortions in Louisiana, otherwise they would end up paying for attorney fees for pro-abortion lawyers ready to take abortion bans to court.

"I’m not interested in using Louisiana tax dollars to fund abortion lawyers," Bordlee said.