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LOUSIANA LAWMAKERS HAVE passed a bill banning abortions once a foetal heartbeat is detected, joining a string of other US states restricting the termination of pregnancies as early as six weeks.
The bans are expected to be blocked in lower courts, but supporters plan to appeal such decisions until they reach the Supreme Court.
They hope this will lead to the long-sought conservative goal of overturning the landmark 1973 ruling known as Roe v Wade, which recognised women’s right to abortion.
The measure – which includes exceptions for cases in which a woman’s life is at risk or the foetus has a fatal condition – passed the Louisiana House of Representatives with a vote of 79-23 after being approved in the Senate by 31-5, according to the legislature’s website.
It now goes to the desk of the governor John Edwards, who said he plans to endorse it.
“As I prepare to sign this bill, I call on the overwhelming bipartisan majority of legislators who voted for it to join me in continuing to build a better Louisiana that cares for the least among us and provides more opportunity for everyone,” the governor said in a statement posted on Twitter.
These ‘heartbeat bills’ ban an abortion once a heartbeat is detected in a foetus.
The heartbeat can begin in what is known as the ‘foetal pole’ as early as six weeks into the pregnancy.
As pregnancies are dated from the first day of the pregnant person’s last period, being six weeks pregnant means around two weeks after a missed period.
This could mean the person may not realise they are pregnant, as they are not very far along in the pregnancy. Those opposed to the bill say this does not give pregnant women enough time to choose whether they want an abortion and access it before a heartbeat can be detected.
‘Lives at risk’
Planned Parenthood, which offers abortion services, said Louisiana “is part of an alarming and widely-opposed national trend of bans criminalizing abortion before many women even know they’re pregnant, threatening women with investigation, and promising to throw doctors in prison for doing their jobs.”
“Banning abortion will not stop abortion – but it will end access to safe, legal abortion care,” said Leana Wen, the president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
“These politicians in 2019 are deliberately putting women’s lives at risk. This is not about medicine or science, but power over women’s bodies.”
Several other conservative southern US states have passed similar measures in recent weeks, including Alabama, whose anti-abortion law is the strictest in the country. It amounts to a near-total ban on ending a pregnancy, even in cases of rape and incest.
Performing an abortion would be a crime that could land doctors in prison for ten to 99 years.
Like the Louisiana measure, the Alabama bill includes exceptions if the life of the mother is in danger or the foetus has a fatal condition.
The Explainer / SoundCloud
Protests
The new abortion restrictions sparked widespread protests by activists last week, with demonstrators turning out in cities including Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta, Georgia.
Conservatives are ultimately counting on support at the highest court in the land.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has appointed two conservative justices – Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – leaving liberal members of the court outnumbered five to four.
Conservative-leaning Chief Justice John Roberts is seen as the potential swing vote if the constitutionality of abortion eventually comes before the court.
Around two thirds of Americans say abortion should be legal, a Pew Center poll found last year.
- © AFP 2019.
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About time too
+1 Long past time. The treatment of some victims in the past has been disgraceful.
Not just in the past. Look at the suspended sentence for the rape case yesterday.
You go to court in this country for law not justice
By the time the information is released you can be almost certain the criminal has been released.
Victims and Rights don’t go together in this country.
Rafa Benitez finishing up his job as a prison officer before heading off to Madrid
the chances the assailant gets a prison sentence in the first place is slim.
Should be handy to implement. Sure it seems the majority of victims are in court when the judges just hands out a suspended sentence. Turning up to the court hearing and told he’s been released all on the one day. It’s the new Irish judiciary efficiency initiative.
It sounds like you have to request the information as opposed to being told about a release or escape.
Dangerously populist version of justice that conceals the fascism behind their thinking.
FG should not be allowed screw up the justice system.
Hold your horses there, you can’t just go full rétárd in one comment. And you did just go full rétárd.
Ah yes, Tropic Thunder, great movie!
These “réforms” offer no additional rights for the accused. Which means that plod will entertain false allegations with aplomb, and cover up the fact that they have placed the innocent under investigation for no valid reason.
Once a falsified Pulse entry is established, the “alleged perpetrator” can do nothing to have this makey uppy policing erased from their record.
Fitzgerald is more dangerous than Shatter.
Paul. These reforms are to do with the “Convicted” not the “Accused” as you put it. And what additional rights do the Convicted need? They are fully protected as it is.
Ah here Paul, where are you getting all this!
• The new policy allows for the victim to be made aware that the offender in their case is going to be released from prison. That is all. It’s not ‘here’s his address and start a witch hunt’. It is nothing more than a simple ‘he’s going to be released’. In reality this is not going to hurt the accused (the offender as he’s guilty of the crime) and the victim.
• PULSE has nothing to do with this. Absolutely nothing. Prisoner records (TR/release/movement to prisons/etc) are all done by the IPA. They don’t have any access to PULSE.
• Criminal Convictions records are maintained by the Courts Service, not Gardaí. So again, PULSE has nothing to do with this.
I can think that someone hurt you when you were very young. But this idea of a fascist conspiracy of a police state looking to get one over on every citizen at every opportunity really isn’t the case.
The fact I’m even this far down and typing this is actually making me question if I’m actually the mad one here!
Throwaway,
I suggest you reread the article. It outlines support for anybody who makes a complaint, not just victims.
Pulse has everything to do with it. As soon as an accused is “known to Gardaí” do you think that matters end there?
The article is clear as.
You’re not making any sense. The new act outlined the basic services and how a person can find out. It’s straightforward: you get to find out what the DPP etc do. You get to receive a written letter to say that a complaint has been made. Beyond the release from prison there isn’t much else to it. PULSE is only there for Gardaí as a listing and recording crime figures facility. You’re reading way too much into things. I suggest going to a Garda or into a Garda station and just ask your questions outright, because you are so far off the mark that your alongside ‘aliens shot JFK’ territory.
“Other rights under the bill include:
The right to receive information on the criminal justice system, their role within it and the range of services they may access when they first contact An Garda Síochána.
The right to receive written acknowledgement of the making of the complaint, with contact details where further information can be obtained.
The right to be provided on request with information concerning the progress of an investigation and any court proceedings.
The right to an individual assessment to establish measures that may be needed for protection from any repeat victimisation, intimidation or retaliation.
The right to be informed on request of any decision not to prosecute a person in relation to an offence committed against them and the right to request a review of that decision.
There will also be an obligation on the various authorities involved to provide training to their staff who have contact with victims in the course of their official duties.”
As for ‘accused known to Gardai’ this act changes nothing.
If you made a complaint last week or last month, Gardaí will look into it and an investigation will proceed. And guess what, with the new act of you make a complaint…it’s exactly the same thing. The act does nothing for Gardaí from an investigative perspective.
Again, you’re just so far into conspiracy land that it is almost better to leave you there than try and show you the real world.
The Gardaí will become obliged to provide information to a complainant. That messes with the idea of independence.
In practice, this will mean a higher standard of “policing” for some, but not for others.
Of course, Throwaway, you believe that AGS treat all citizens equally?
but “some” are more equal than others..
The first change of hopefully, many more to come in this country’s judicial system
Just read Stephen Manning court cases to get an idea of what is going on in this corrupt country
Nothing about reporting crimes to a Gardaí and his pal using faked laughter as it seemed?
Wrote it in his book and that was all that was about it…
have your say