The Advocate – Louisiana lawmakers passed a bill to ban abortions at about six weeks of pregnancy if upheld by the courts, sending it to the governor’s desk without exceptions for victims of rape and incest.
Gov. John Bel Edwards, Democrat, said he will sign the bill into law. Supporters of the so-called “fetal heartbeat” legislation defeated proposed changes that would have exempted victims of rape and incest from the abortion ban.
It was a lengthy and at times fiery debate in the state House Wednesday. Critics called the ban unconscionable without such exceptions . . . Louisiana joins several states across the South and Midwest passing a ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
