The amendment mirrors a pending Senate bill aimed at tightening up Louisiana abortion laws that would go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. McCormick, as the sponsor, is unlikely to advance it in the House but the Senate version can still advance.
McCormick’s bill, introduced in March, had drawn intense scrutiny in light of last week’s leak of a draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion indicating the high court is preparing to overturn decisions upholding a constitutional right to abortion.
There was no indication yet that lawmakers in other states are taking up similar legislation. In Idaho, Republican state Rep. Heather Scott has proposed prosecuting women who get abortions, but a committee chairman said Friday he would not allow it. “There are still reasonable people in the Legislature who are going to ensure that extreme bills like that are not going to get a hearing,” Rep. Brent Crane said.
Louisiana already has laws on the books criminalizing abortion, including a “trigger law” ensuring that it will be a crime if the Supreme Court reverses the Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling establishing abortion rights. The statutes appear to exempt women from prosecution, although some abortion rights advocates have suggested they need tightening.
McCormick has said the existing laws are inadequate to give fetuses equal protection under law.
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Associated Press writer Holly Ramer contributed to this report from Concord, New Hampshire.
This article originally appeared here.
