For Immediate Release

Contact: Benjamin Clapper | bclapper@prolifelouisiana.org | 1.504.228.4273

 

Baton Rouge, LA: This afternoon, the Louisiana House passed SB 708, the Hear the Heartbeat Act, authored by Senator Sharon Weston Broome (D-Baton Rouge) and carried by Representative Valarie Hodges (R-Denham Springs) by a margin of 95-1.  SB 708 must now clear a procedural Senate concurrence vote in the comings days before heading to Governor Jindal's desk. 

 

SB 708, an LARTL flagship piece of legislation drafted by the Bioethics Defense Fund, will require abortion facilities to make the unborn child's heartbeat audible for the woman at least 24 hours prior to an abortion (unless she requests and signs an opt-out form). In addition, SB 708 improves the "Ultrasound Before Abortion" law by requiring abortion facilities to place the ultrasound screen in view of the woman (the woman then has the choice whether to view the ultrasound images of the unborn child). 

 

Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life, said the following upon House passage, "We are thrilled that the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed SB 708.  Abortion facilities exist to stop the beating of an unborn child's heart.  The Hear the Heartbeat Act gives an otherwise voiceless child a voice through the playing of their heartbeat."

  

"With the heartbeat and ultrasound provisions in the Hear the Heartbeat Act soon becoming law, women will be empowered with more medical knowledge regarding their pregnancies within abortion facilities that have a financial interest in squelching this information."  

 

"We commend Senator Broome, Representative Hodges, and the House for their action on this important piece of legislation. We look forward to Governor Jindal signing SB 708 into law and lives being saved in our great state," Clapper finished.     

 

 

    The Heartbeat: A Matter of Life and Death  
View this Video for a True Story of A Life Saved