Louisiana House passes bill to criminalize abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest

A bill that would criminalize abortion in Louisiana with no exceptions for rape or incest if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its historic Roe v. Wade decision neared final passage Thursday after clearing the House on a bipartisan vote.

Senate Bill 342 by Democratic Monroe Sen. Katrina Jackson builds on Louisiana's 2006 trigger law to outlaw abortion if the Supreme Court ever reverses Roe, which seems likely after a draft decision doing so was leaked in May.

Jackson's bill specifically exempts pregnant women from prosecution but doubles the 2006 penalties for doctors or others who terminate pregnancies to a maximum $100,000 fine and 10 years in jail. It cleared the House on a 72-25 vote.

Republican Lafayette Rep. Julie Emerson presented Jackson's bill in the House, saying a Roe reversal would immediately "close the doors of abortion facilities."

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The House rejected an amendment proposed by Democratic Shreveport Rep. Cedric Glover to add exemptions for rape and incest on a 37-62 vote.

"If an 11-year-old is raped and becomes pregnant she has to have the baby, which is awfully sad to me," said Democratic New Orleans Rep. Aimee Freeman, one of the minority of abortion rights advocates in the Legislature.

"This one's tough; very tough," Emerson said. "But at the end of the day the child is innocent."

There are exceptions to save the life of the child or mother or terminate ectopic pregnancies, which are where the fetus develops outside the uterus and can't survive, as well for removing a deceased baby from the womb or removing a child that can't live outside the womb.

Emerson said the bill wouldn't prohibit contraception — including "emergency contraception" like the Plan B pill — or affect in vitro fertilization.

There are similar trigger laws in 22 other states, according to the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute, which means Louisiana women would have to travel as far east as Florida, as far west as New Mexico and as far north as Illinois to have an abortion.

Jackson also previously authored the amendment declaring there is no right to and no funding of abortion in the Louisiana Constitution that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2020.

"My position has been consistent throughout my life and career," Jackson said in a previous interview with USA Today Network. "I believe all life is precious and should be protected from womb to tomb."

Emerson referenced the 2020 amendment while presenting the bill, saying, "I believe Louisiana has spoken" on its opposition to abortion. "They've been pretty clear where they stand," she said.

The bill must return to the Senate for approval of House amendments before final passage.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1