By Jyoti Jha
The legal definition of the term “abortion” is a deliberate termination of pregnancy by surgically removing the embryo from the womb of the mother. Abortion as a concept and its legal framework is the subject of the US Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade.
Louisiana Abortion Law: Pro-life and Pro-choice
To fully understand Louisiana Abortion Law, let us first understand what the issue regarding abortion is. People who support Abortion by means of choice are a part of the Pro-choice group. They believe that whether to go through an abortion should be a woman’s choice because it is her body carrying the baby.
These are the points on which they support a woman’s right to an abortion:
- It advocates for the bodily autonomy of the woman. They hold that fetal development only occurs because the fetus uses the mother’s body for survival. Therefore, only the other should have a say on the matter.
- They hold that a person’s life might begin at the embryo, but the personhood begins as they grow up in a society and become a social being. Before a person gets their personhood, it does not constitute murder. Therefore abortion is not murder.
- Pro-choice advocates are of the opinion that abortion is basically preventing overpopulation and stopping more kids from entering the foster system.
- The pro-choice population also believes that a woman’s reproductive rights are completely her own. No one else should have a say in what she does with her body other than her because she will face the consequences.
People who do not support abortion by choice call themselves Pro-lifers. They consider an embryo or fetus equal to a fully formed human.
These are the reasons why they do not believe in a woman’s right to an abortion.
- They believe that an embryo is also a human being and therefore enjoys basic human rights such as the right to life.
- They consider abortion to be murder. Therefore, they feel that adoption is a much better alternative to getting an abortion.
- They also argue that a woman suffers through post-abortion syndrome after getting an abortion.
- Pro-life supporters also believe that abortion is ethically and morally wrong. They believe that even an unborn child’s dignity and sanctity need to be protected.
Louisiana Abortion Law: What Happened in Roe v. Wade?
Roe v. Wade was a landmark judgment delivered by the United States Supreme Court in 1973. It established the abortion rights of a woman who is a citizen of the United States.
By the decision of Roe v. Wade, the Court protected a woman’s right to privacy. Her right to privacy would include the right to abortion.
The Court also held that during the first trimester of an individual, the decision to get an abortion lies in the woman and her doctor. In the second trimester, the state had a say in the matter to protect her health. However, in the third trimester, the state had the right to prohibit an abortion to protect the potential life of the baby.
The case established that the state had a say in the protection of the interest of the fetus from a point where it could survive outside the womb.
The Court recognized that the law could reconsider the state’s interest in protecting the child if the pregnancy threatened the woman’s life or physical, emotional, or psychological health.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States passed a ruling in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and overturned the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. This decision vested the authority to regulate or ban abortion in individual states and not on the individual carrying the child. It sent out ripples through the Louisiana Abortion Law framework. In response to the judgment by the US Supreme Court, Louisiana swiftly enforced a “trigger ban” prohibiting abortions within the state.
Wrapping Up with Current Circumstance: Louisiana Abortion Law
The current Louisiana Abortion laws are outlined in the following “Louisiana Revised Statutes.” Section 1061 and onward of Chapter 5, Title 40 of the Health Provisions from Abortion category state the following.
It defines Criminal Abortion. These are the circumstances under which it is recognized as an abortion under law.
- An induced abortion constitutes any intentional activity that leads to the termination of a clinically diagnosable pregnancy.
- If such activity is carried out with the knowledge that it will lead to the death of the unborn.
- The exceptions to this case include the following:
I. any condition that makes it necessary to conduct an abortion to save the life of the woman carrying the child.
II. If the abortion is necessary to stop impairment to a life-sustaining organ of the woman carrying the child.
III. When the unborn child is declared to be unfit for survival by healthcare professionals.
IV. In case the doctors require it to remove an ectopic pregnancy.
According to Louisiana Abortion Law, these are the penalties for Criminal Abortion.
a. A person knowingly performing a criminal abortion could face upto 1-10 years in imprisonment with hard labor. There could be an additional fine from $10,000 to $100,000.
b. If such an abortion is carried out after the 15th week of the pregnancy, the penalty will increase. It can include imprisonment with hard labor from 1-15 years, and they may be fined between $20,000 and $200,000.
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