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Expect abortion to remain a campaign issue, consultants say
Voters in Louisiana are used to the tell-tale signs of a contentious election showing up in their mailbox: a report card deeming candidate A more “pro-life,” a derragtory post card declaring candidate B as bad as a liberal. For almost 50 years, Republicans have campaigned on anti-abortion messages. The foe of Roe v. Wade, which […]
After overturning Roe, what’s next for anti-abortion groups?
After 50 years of organizing from the bottom to the top of the ballot to put their preferred candidates in office, America’s anti-abortion movement has become the dog that caught the car: Roe v. Wade has been overturned. While anti-abortion groups rejoiced at the news of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, allowing abortion bans in […]
Baton Rouge abortion clinic resumes appointments, drawing the ire of protestors
Granted a brief reprieve from Louisiana’s strict abortion ban, Delta Clinic in Baton Rouge, one of three abortion clinics in the state, resumed providing abortions Tuesday. Nearly a dozen clinic escorts, clad in rainbow striped vests, paced the parking lot outside the clinic. The small lot was flanked on either side by anti-abortion protestors. Despite […]
Hundreds rally in New Orleans in support of abortion rights: ‘Indescribable anger’
NEW ORLEANS — It was 96 degrees at sunset as an abortion rights rally approached its second hour. Sweat dripped from everyone in the crowd, the warm breeze not much of a reprieve. Rally signs, bearing messages such as “Make Abortion Great Again” and “We Won’t Go Back,” had long been repurposed into makeshift fans. […]
Louisiana bans abortion after Supreme Court ruling
Louisiana automatically banned almost all abortion in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade decision Friday morning. The state’s three abortion clinics – in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport – stopped administering abortions within hours of the court’s decision. “We are suspending performing abortions as we decide our […]
Despite push from conservatives, veto session unlikely according to House leadership
While the Louisiana Conservative Caucus is pushing for a veto override session, Republicans who lead the House of Representatives don’t think it’s likely. The caucus put out a statement Thursday on Facebook calling for a veto override session. The group, made up of 42 of the most vocal Republicans in the House, targeted their ire […]
In Louisiana, an abortion clinic anxiously waits for a U.S. Supreme Court ruling
SHREVEPORT – On a Thursday morning in mid-June, every parking space in the Hope Medical Group for Women parking lot was claimed by a car with either a Louisiana or Texas license plate. A brown fence surrounding the abortion clinic provides some privacy, obscuring the faces of people going in and out of the building. […]
Abortion medication by mail banned in Louisiana
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a bill Wednesday prohibiting the sale of abortion-inducing medication by prescribers outside the state. Senate Bill 388, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, creates the crime of “abortion by means of an abortion-inducing drug,” which includes delivering, dispensing, distributing or providing abortifacients when the person administering the medication is […]
Louisiana governor enacts laws to protect medical marijuana patients, hurricane victims
The office of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday he has signed 97 more bills into law, including multiple measures to protect hurricane victims and patients who use medical marijuana. The national spotlight was on vulnerable Louisiana residents last August in the wake of Hurricane Ida, the second most destructive hurricane to make landfall […]
Governor signs Sen. Katrina Jackson’s bill upping criminal penalties for abortion providers
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed some of the nation’s strictest abortion restrictions into law, increasing the criminal penalties for abortion providers under the state’s trigger laws. Louisiana is one of 13 states with trigger laws, which go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Under a law signed by […]
COVID vaccine for young children soon available in Louisiana
Louisiana parents seeking to get their young children vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to get the shot starting this week. After the Food and Drug Administration announced last week the vaccine has been given emergency use authorization for kids aged 6 months to 5 years, the Louisiana Department of Health announced Monday it will […]
TOPS candidates may substitute computer coding for foreign language
The Louisiana Legislature signed off on a bill Monday that would allow students to substitute computer coding for a foreign language when being considered for TOPS eligibility. Senate Bill 191, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, would amend the requirements for eligibility for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students to allow them to count two […]