Governor John Bel Edwards says he will intends to sign into law a replacement for Louisiana’s so-called “trigger law” that bans all abortions, should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn “Roe versus Wade.” On his monthly radio program, the governor says the law passed under Governor Kathleen Blanco has no exceptions for cases of rape, incest or any other mitigating factor. He says Senate Bill 342 does have some…
“There will be exception for ectopic pregnancies…for pregnancies where there is no viability of life for the child once it is born, and for physical conditions that may present a challenge to the life of the mother,” Edwards says.
He says some exceptions are better than none at all, but he would still prefer lawmakers had shown more compassion to victims of rape or incest.
“I just don’t believe that you should use the power of law in the state to force a woman, or a girl if that the case, to carry her rapist’s baby to term.”
However, Edwards says he plans to sign the bill into law, despite interest groups’ calls for a veto. He says killing the bill will accomplish nothing at all.
“Even if I vetoed the bill, and the veto was sustained, the trigger law that’s going to apply in Louisiana doesn’t contain the rape or incest exception either,” says the Governor.
Edwards says better to sign a bill with a few exceptions than to veto it and have none whatsoever, should the federal High Court’s ruling ever be reversed. A leaked opinion draft indicates a majority of justices would vote that way, but so far no action of “Roe” has been taken.
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