The House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice on Tuesday pushed back votes on several bills that would have added exceptions to Louisiana’s near-total abortion ban and advanced a measure making it a specific crime to give someone abortion drugs without their knowledge.
The committee postponed a vote on House Bill 164 by Rep. Delisha Boyd, a New Orleans Democrat, that would have added rape and incest exceptions to Louisiana’s near-total abortion ban.
Boyd again told the story of why the measure was personal for her. Her mother had her when she was 15, becoming pregnant after she was raped by a 28-year-old, she said. Boyd said her mother struggled with mental health issues and died before the age of 30.
Boyd said only rape and incest exceptions were her intent, but some committee members were concerned the way the bill was worded would create other exceptions. The committee took a break to see if staff could make changes to the bill clarifying that, before rescheduling a vote on the bill.
The meeting was running long, and members were scheduled to meet in the House chamber at 1 p.m. The committee will meet again next week.
A 2023 survey of Louisiana residents by LSU researchers found that 77% of respondents supported a rape exception to the state’s abortion ban.
The same survey found that 52% of respondents said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 44% said it should be illegal in all or most cases.
The committee also rejected 4-8 House Bill 630 by Rep. Mandie Landry, a New Orleans Democrat, which would have put a clarification in law stating no person could be punished for any “pregnancy outcome that does not result in a live birth,” whether that’s an abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth, no matter any other laws on the books.
Ben Clapper, the president of prominent anti-abortion group Louisiana Right to Life, opposed the bill, arguing it wasn’t necessary because he thought current laws were “clear” enough.
Rep. Alonzo Knox, a New Orleans Democrat, replied, “What you made clear was your inconsistency on the position.”
Chair Debbie Villio, a Kenner Republican, interjected, calling for decorum, as she did several times throughout the meeting.
“My instruction for decorum was not only for the audience, but it was for members alike,” she added.
The committee advanced without objection Senate Bill 276 by Sen. Thomas Pressly, a Shreveport Republican, which creates the particular crime of knowingly giving a pregnant person an abortion pill without that person’s knowledge or consent.
Pressly filed the bill on behalf of his sister Catherine Herring of Houston who testified that her husband tried to sneak abortion pills into her drink on several occasions. She said her husband received 10 years of probation and 180 days in jail, a punishment she felt was inadequate.
Under the proposal, an attempt made in the first trimester would be sentenced 5-10 years in prison and fined $10,000-$75,000 fine, and one made later in the pregnancy would receive 10-20 years in prison and a $50,000-$100,000 fine. Rep. Dodie Horton, a Haughton Republican, said she’d like to see those penalties increased.
Pressly amended the bill in committee to add the two pills used to induce abortions, mifepristone and misoprostol, to the controlled substances list, meaning it would be illegal to possess them without “a valid prescription or order from a practitioner” or unless “acting in the course of [one’s] professional practice.”
The penalty is one to 10 years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
The bill states that it is not illegal for a pregnant woman to possess these drugs “for her own consumption.”
Pressly said Louisiana Right to Life helped work on the bill and the amendment.
Reproductive rights lawyer Ellie Schilling spoke in opposition to the bill, saying she had legal concerns about adding “attempt to cause” language into existing law and designating the crime as a “racketeering activity.” Racketeering is organized crime by multiple people to repeatedly make money, often through fraud, coercion or other illegal methods.
Schilling said by adding “attempt to cause” language into law, “you’re adding a lot of uncertainty and lack of clarity for what that would mean.”
She also said she feared these parts of the measure would cause more fear for Louisiana doctors. In a recent report by reproductive rights organizations, doctors in the state said Louisiana's abortion ban is negatively impacting their care for pregnant patients.
They gave examples of waiting to care for a patient until their condition became dire and giving C-sections instead of the less invasive dilation and evacuation, a common abortion procedure that is performed vaginally, to avoid even giving the appearance of providing an abortion.
“Doctors are very worried right now that their conduct in treating pregnancy complications could be interpreted by a prosecutor as attempting to perform an abortion,” Schilling said.
The bills would keep IVF providers from being sued if something happens to the embryos in their care as long as they’re acting “in good faith.”
The council members are looking to avoid repeating mistakes of Carnivals Past.
