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BATON ROUGE, LA, April 23, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) — A Louisiana bill that would require abortion facilities to hand out pamphlets about the mental health risks of abortion is on its way to the state Senate.

On Monday, the Louisiana House overwhelmingly passed HB 1262 by a margin of 82 to 9, with 14 members not voting. The bill requires the pamphlets be given at least 24 hours before an abortion takes place. The pamphlets must also include “Information, phone numbers, and links to Internet websites of nonprofit organizations” that have free and confidential information about the harm caused to women before and after having an abortion.

Any professionals that are recommended cannot be “affiliated with an abortion provider.” There is also a provision for sex trafficking victims. According to testimony to the House Health & Welfare Committee by SpeakHope's Cindy Collins, who is with the Louisiana Abortion Recovery Alliance, 13.6 percent of U.S. minors at risk of human trafficking are reported to have had abortions.

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NOLA.com reports that “the bill originally addressed only the psychological impacts of abortion,” but lead sponsor Barry Ivey of Baton Rouge said the sex trafficking section was added because Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has prioritized sex trafficking as a policy issue. Coerced abortion is also addressed.

According to Rep. Valarie Hodges, a cosponsor of the legislation, “studies have shown increased risks of anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse and suicide in women having abortions.” Hodges says “these risks are ignored by the abortion industry. We want women to be fully informed about ALL of the risks before choosing abortion.”

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Hodges, who is on a human trafficking task force in the state House, told LifeSiteNews that “this legislation seeks to help women and girls that are often coerced or forced into having abortions. We also know that victims of human trafficking are forced to go to abortion facilities. This document will let these women and girls know that they can be HELPED and RESCUED from criminals who are exploiting them for profit, and then forcing them into abortions to keep them in the sex trade.”

Hodges says she was inspired to support the bill because of “a direct connection between sex trafficking and abortion. This bill will give abortion facilities the opportunity to be a rescue point of source providing valuable information to potential trafficking victims.”

“I feel that women should be aware of the psychological risks involved in having an abortion prior to the procedure,” said Hodges. “I personally know women who had abortions 30 years ago who have suffered mental anguish ever since having the abortion.”

Hodges says she “fully expect[s] that [the bill] will become law,” pointing to how “there was very little opposition” in the House.

The mental health risks of abortion have long been known to the medical community, though they are often ignored by pro-abortion politicians and abortion facilities. A 2011 study that examined over 800,000 women, including over 160,000 who had abortions, found that women who underwent an abortion had an 81 percent greater chance of mental health problems. The same study also found that nearly one-in-ten of mental health problems experienced by women are directly linked to abortion.