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Huge Victory for Life in U.S. House | 2013 Legislative Wrap Up 
LARTL Asks Senators Landrieu and Vitter to Publicly Write to Senate President Reid  

Greetings! 

The past few days have been filled with notable

pro-life successes in the legislative arena.  Take a look!

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  • The 2013 Legislative Session recently finished, and this past Friday, Governor Bobby Jindal signed two pro-life bills into state law that were initiated by Louisiana Right to Life.  Read below for full reports on these bills and two important resolutions calling for an investigation of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. 

    Unfortunately, legislation did pass the state legislature allowing commercial contracts for gestational surrogacy.  We have asked Governor Jindal to veto the legislation. 
  • On Tuesday, the U.S House of Representatives voted yes to a bill that would protect unborn babies at the age of 20 weeks and older. The premise for this bill -- the Pain-Capable Unborn Protection Act (H.R. 1797)-- is based on the scientific evidence that the unborn can feel pain.

    Although President Obama has already threatened to veto H.R. 1797, it is crucial that we urge Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter to publicly write Senate President Harry Reid and ask that he make this legislation a priority. Contact them today: 
    • Senator Landrieu: Call at (202) 224-5824
    • Senator Vitter: Call at (202) 224-4623  

Click here to learn more about H.R. 1797, see how our Congressmen voted, and watch video clips of Congressmen Scalise and Fleming speaking in favor of the bill on the House floor. 

 

For a Pro-Life Louisiana,

 

Benjamin Clapper

Executive Director

Louisiana Right to Life

 

P.S. Louisiana Right to Life spends significant time and resources shepherding legislation through the state legislature.  Please consider making a donation to our legislative efforts! Mark "legislative" in the comment box on the donation form. 

SB 90: Stricter Regulations on Abortion Industry

Authored by Senator Fred Mills (R - Parks)  

 
Senate Bill 90 overwhelming passed through the Senate and the House of Representatives.

SB 90 does the following: 
  • Requires abortionists in Louisiana to be board certified in obstetrics and gynecology.   
    • This prevents other physicians, such as a foot or eye doctor, from performing abortions, thereby protecting women from physicians not skilled in GYN related surgery.    
    • This legislation will make it more difficult for abortion facilities to find the specific physicians willing to destroy the lives of innocent human babies.  
  • Bans "tele-med" or "web-cam" abortions.   
    • In a web-cam abortion, the abortionist is off-site and video-conferences with the client at the abortion facility to "administer" an RU-486 abortion.
    • A few years ago in Iowa, Planned Parenthood began to utilize the web-cam procedure because of the lack of physicians that wanted to do abortions.  With Planned Parenthood planning to construct a facility in New Orleans, we wanted to take preventative action to ensure that Planned Parenthood couldn't orchestrate a web-came abortion from their main location in Houston.  
    • Many risks are associated with this type of abortion such as, but not limited to: heavy bleeding, incomplete abortion and allergic reaction due to the abortion medication.
HR 278: Coerced Abortion Defined As Child Abuse 
Authored by Representative Valarie Hodges (R - Denham Springs)
 
House Bill 278 overwhelmingly passed through the Senate and the House of Representatives. This bill adds "coerced abortion of a minor" to the definition of child abuse.

An incident last fall sparked this legislative effort. Under intense pressure by her parents, a 15 year old was taken to abortion facilities in Florida and Louisiana. She did not want to have an abortion but was being coerced by her parents. Police eventually intervened and she did not have the abortion. However, state agencies that would typically be involved in instances of child abuse claimed that state law did not give them the authority to step in when faced with such a situation. 

This bill will require the Department of Children and Family Services to investigate reports that a young girl (17 or under) is being intimidated, forced or coerced to have an abortion by parents, guardians, caretakers, and human traffickers.

Louisiana Right to Life thanks allied attorney and Baton Rouge Right to Life Board Member Charlotte Bergeron for drafting this bill and leading it through the process. 
Investigation of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast
SCR 57 by Senator Danny Martiny (R - Metairie)
HR 105 by Representative Frank Hoffman (R - West Monroe)

SCR 57, and its companion resolution HR 105, urges various state departments to freeze state contracts with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast while inquiries are being conducted into possible violations of state law and alleged medicaid fraud.

During the process of these resolutions, Abby Johnson, a former Director of a Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast facility in Texas, testified before the House Health and Welfare Committee, exposing in dramatic fashion the truth about Planned Parenthood's abortion quota.

Both resolutions were passed with the overwhelming support of both chambers.  We will be meeting with administrative officials soon to ensure the requests made in the resolutions are carried out with haste. 
Louisiana Right to Life, established in 1970, works through education, legislation, activism, and service to restore the right to life in Louisiana by opposing abortion, euthanasia, and other life destroying actions.

Join us in building a stronger pro-life Louisiana by donating online.

Visit us online at www.ProLifeLouisiana.org.