Louisiana lawmakers advance bill that would classify abortion as homicide

A bill advanced Wednesday by Louisiana state lawmakers would classify abortion as a homicide, allowing authorities to potentially charge women and girls with murder and criminalize in vitro fertilization, critics said.

The bill, dubbed the Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act, passed 7-2 out of a state House of Representatives subcommittee two days after Politico published a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the high court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The bill will now move to a full House vote. The legislation would still need support from the senate and governor before it becomes law.

Speaking during a hearing Wednesday, the bill’s sponsor, Danny McCormick, compared the move to flout federal laws protecting abortion to the state’s approval of medical marijuana.

“If more than 15 states can defy the federal government, we can do it to save the lives of innocent babies,” he said. “We cannot wait for the Supreme Court to confirm that innocent babies have the right to life.”

“The taking of a life is murder and it is illegal,” he added.

The bill’s text says the legislation aims to “ensure the right to life and equal protection of the laws to all unborn children from the moment of fertilization” and it instructs the state to disregard federal abortion laws, including Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Ellie Schilling, a Louisiana lawyer who represents reproductive health care providers and spoke during the hearing, said the bill would amend state law and allow authorities to charge someone who is pregnant with homicide or criminal battery “at any stage of gestation,” according to Reuters.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana called the bill “blatantly unconstitutional” and said that it would allow authorities to bring murder charges against people who obtain an abortion or those who assist them.

Chris Kaiser, the group’s advocacy director, said the bill could potentially criminalize in vitro fertilization and various forms of birth control by defining a fertilized egg before implantation as a person, according to Reuters.

McCormick did not comment on the possibility of criminalizing IVF during Wednesday’s hearing. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.