By Gudrun Schultz
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 20, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A proposal to make almost all abortions illegal in the state of Louisiana moved forward through the Senate Health and Welfare committee yesterday, coming one step closer to law.
The proposed legislation would ban all abortions, with exceptions only for cases where the mother’s life was in danger. Under the law, doctors found guilty of performing abortions would face up to 10 years in prison and fines of $100,000, reported the Associated Press.
Sen. Ben Nevers, who sponsored the bill, did not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
“I am very deeply concerned about women who have been raped, or been involved in incest. And my heart goes out to them,” he said, but said he opposed the exceptions because “abortion is just another crime,” like rape.
A move to make the bill “more pro-life” by removing the exception for the life of the mother will receive further consideration, Nevers said. Sen. Diana Bajoie said in debate she wanted that exception taken out because she objected to the idea of a woman’s life being saved by sacrificing a child.
The Louisiana measure is almost identical to the South Dakota abortion ban that was signed into law last month. The bill will now move to the full Senate.
See related LifeSiteNews coverage:
Abortion Ban Signed into Law by South Dakota Governor
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/mar/06030603.html
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Alabama Legislators Push For Law to Ban Abortion
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/mar/06032704.html
Abortion Activists in U.S. Say They Are Losing the Battle
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06013008.html