The Louisiana State Senate approved a near-total ban on abortion on Wednesday, allowing abortion only to save a woman's life. This ban demonstrates the strong anti-choice politics of the Senate, as there were no arguments against the ban, but only questions of whether to include exceptions for cases of rape and incest. An amendment to include rape and incest exceptions was defeated.
The ban does not punish women directly, but would fine anyone who performs an abortion between $10,000 and $100,000, a jail term of one to ten years, or a combination of a fine and jail time. The ban is a trigger law, meaning it will only go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
The bill will now move to the House of Representatives. Governor Kathleen Blanco has told reporters she would sign “some kind of abortion bill,” reports the Times-Picayune and that she appreciates the trigger law, as it would prevent the kinds of lawsuits that resulted in Louisiana’s previous abortion ban being declared unconstitutional.
6/19/2013 House Passes 20 Week Abortion Ban - Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a nationwide abortion ban after 20 weeks gestation in a vote of 228 to 196. . . .
6/18/2013 Supreme Court Strikes Down Proof of Citizenship Voter Requirements - On Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed register to vote.
In an opinion written [PDF] by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court ruled that the Arizona statute violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, also known as the "Motor Voter Law") of 1993, which created a federal form that individuals can mail in to register to vote in federal elections. . . .
