On Friday the State Supreme Court denied an appeal challenging the state’s abortion ban thus allowing for it to remain in effect. Since Roe v Wade was overturned, the state ban on abortion was on, then off, then on again. President of the Louisiana Family Forum Gene Mills is pleased with the decision that paves the way for abortions to finally be illegal in the state.
“And I don’t believe that they can continue to litigate this beyond the state supreme court, the final ruling’s coming in a matter of moments, and it’s going to be Louisiana’s law, it reflects a pro-life position,” said Mills.
Pro-choice advocates however are disappointed. Devante Lewis with the Louisiana Budget Project said the state is not prepared for the influx of children that will be living in poverty because already 62 percent of children in Louisiana are born as Medicaid recipients.
“I just don’t think the legislature is getting beyond kind of this narrow-minded view about what ending abortion as we know it means and really looking at the fact of what’s happening in our state,” said Lewis.
The possibility of legislation to amend the ban to allow for the exception of rape or incest, Mills believes is highly unlikely.
“But if you hold a position that life begins at conception which the Louisiana legislature and most of its residents have always held, we’ve debated that ad nauseam, we think that that’s going to hold and Louisiana’s on record as being a pro-life state,” said Mills.
Lewis fears since conservatives in Louisiana have outlawed abortion that the right to contraception could also be lost. He said if the legislature is truly pro-life, they have to be willing to raise the minimum wage, ensure affordable housing and protect existing social safety nets like DCFS, SNAP, and Medicaid.
“Otherwise, we’re going to have a significant recipe for disaster in this state and I think we have to be on the frontlines of defending both at the exact same time,” said Lewis.
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