Louisiana Senate overwhelmingly votes for abortion pill restrictions – Louisiana Illuminator

The Louisiana Senate overwhelmingly accredited extra restrictions for abortion tablets in a 33-2 vote Monday (April 25).

Each Republican and eight out of 10 Democrats within the chamber supported the laws carried by Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell. No senator spoke out in opposition to the restrictions on the Senate flooring earlier than the vote befell. 

Senate Invoice 388 is a part of a nationwide anti-abortion push to ban medical employees from prescribing abortion tablets on-line or over the telephone after which sending the tablets by way of the mail. It requires {that a} pregnant individual in Louisiana looking for a medication-induced abortion see a neighborhood doctor for an in-person go to and take the abortion tablets in entrance of the physician.

The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration believes these measures are pointless. In December, the company accredited the distribution of abortion treatment with out an in-person medical appointment. 

Greater than half of U.S. abortions final 12 months occurred by way of tablets, relatively than surgical procedure, in response to the Guttmacher Institute, a analysis group that helps abortion rights. Because the tablets have surged in recognition, anti-abortion lawmakers have pivoted to concentrate on treatment restrictions.

Hewitt added language to the invoice on the Senate flooring to make clear that girls who acquired or took treatment to induce an abortion – even when obtained through the mail or on-line – couldn’t be prosecuted for doing so. 

Her laws will increase penalties for performing a “felony abortion” – outlined as one with out consent from the pregnant individual or their authorized guardian – within the case of great harm or loss of life of a pregnant individual. Fines may vary from $5,000 to $100,000, and jail time may span from 5 to 50 years upon conviction.

The 2 senators who voted in opposition to the invoice – Cleo Fields of Baton Rouge and Gary Carter of New Orleans – are Black Democratic males. The Home will now take up the measure.