Louisiana Senate passes anti-abortion amendment

The Louisiana Senate approved a state constitutional amendment this week declaring that citizens have no constitutional right to abortions. According to a report in The Guardian, the move is the latest salvo in a broader assault against reproductive rights in the state, and it comes on the heels of extreme legislation in Georgia, Missouri and Alabama all aimed at near-total bans of the procedure. The measure now heads back to the House, which has already passed a version, for final approval. The amendment still, however, needs to be ratified by Louisiana voters in a referendum. ‘Constitutions are meant to protect rights, not deny them. But that’s exactly what the State Senate did today when it passed an amendment that will directly hurt some of our most vulnerable citizens: poor women,’ said Michelle Erenberg, the executive director of Lift Louisiana, an advocacy group that defends women’s access to healthcare. Statewide polling suggests a majority of Louisiana residents oppose abortion in ‘all or most cases’, but only a quarter say the procedure should never be permitted. Ultimately, the case, or one like it from another state, will probably head to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, anti-choice lawmakers in Louisiana are still chipping away at reproductive rights through more immediate means, pushing a number of restrictive laws intended to make abortion services more difficult to provide and receive.