Louisiana v. Roe

[demmiblue]

Source: Mother Jones


Anti-abortion lawmakers in state legislatures around the country have already drawn national attention—and outrage—for pushing bills that would drastically limit access to abortions. But in Louisiana, one "unapologetically pro-life" lawmaker wants to go even further. State Rep. John LaBruzzo, a Republican from Metairie, has introduced a bill that would ban all abortions in his state—with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother—and charge women who seek abortions and the doctors who perform those abortions with "feticide."

Louisiana state law calls for jail sentences of up 15 years, with hard labor, for the unlawful killing an unborn child. LaBruzzo told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that the inclusion of the line subjecting women to "feticide" prosecution for seeking abortions was a "mis-draft," and including it "would make too difficult to pass." He promised the provision will be removed from the bill before it goes to a committee vote. But while LaBruzzo doesn't expect to punish women who seek abortions, he would still like to see doctors working on the chain gang for providing a constitutionally protected medical procedure.

The Constitution, of course, is exactly what LaBruzzo is targeting. He admits his proposal is intended as a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the constitutional right to privacy included the right to abortions in some circumstances. LaBruzzo says he'd like his bill to become law and "immediately go to court," and he told a local paper that an unnamed conservative religious group asked him to propose the law for exactly that purpose. When contacted by Mother Jones, LaBruzzo's secretary said he would "prefer not to do an interview" on the bill but would possibly answer written questions. As of press time, he had not responded to our inquiries.

Aggressive attacks on abortion rights are nothing new for Louisiana. Access to abortion in the state is already pretty limited, with only seven providers in the state, says Julie Mickelberry, the spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast. In 2006, then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) signed a bill that would ban abortions in the state immediately should Roe v. Wade ever be overturned. The Bayou State's legislature passes bills related to abortion almost every year. Last year, it passed two—one that would require women to submit to an ultrasound before they can get the procedure, and another that would prevent doctors who perform abortions from obtaining malpractice insurance. Abortion rights groups have sued the state over both laws.


More: http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/louisiana-v-roe

[Drale]

1. How do you challenge a case in which the supreme court ruled

on the constitution as unconstitutional? Unless you want to create a amendment, and that is never going to happen.

[Tesha]

2. The Supreme Court *CAN* change its mind.

That's why Brown v Board of Education reversed Plessey
and why gun rights are temporarily in the ascendency
after having been rather-tightly circumscribed for a
long time.

Tesha