6/06/2006

A Step in the Right Direction: Louisiana Passes Conditional Abortion Ban
Legislation shows a trend in America to abolish abortion on demand.

BATON ROUGE, June 6 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Louisiana Senate has passed a conditional ban on abortion that is expected to be signed by Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

The Louisiana abortion ban would punish abortionists with possible 10 year prison sentences and $100,000 fines, but allows exceptions to save the life of the mother or if the mother’s health would be seriously damaged. It can only go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, or the U.S. Constitution is amended to allow states to decided on the legality of abortion.

While Operation Rescue believes this is a step in the right direction, the pro-life group expressed some disappointment that the bill was conditional, and that a “health” exception was included at the last minute.

“We are happy for any restrictions to the brutal killing of innocent babies by abortion,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “But we would have liked to have seen a ban that would go into effect without having to wait on the Supreme Court or a Constitutional Amendment. Both of those processes can take decades, and the children that are scheduled to die today, tomorrow, and next week simply do not have that time to wait.”

“The health exception is also a concern to us because we have seen abortionists make careers out of exploiting the health exception clauses in state laws to include any abortion at any stage of pregnancy for any reason,” said Newman.

In spite of its flaws, Newman says that this is another example of the people speaking loud and clear that they do not want abortion in their communities and in their states. And this is a trend that he says is picking up steam across America.

“It is certain that abortion will come to an end in our nation, whether by judicial decree, Constitutional Amendment, or simply by the people running these abortion chop shops out of their towns,” said Newman.

“Americans see through the abortionists’ rhetoric and are beginning to realize that abortion hurts women, kills babies, and destroys families and relationships. This sentiment is starting to be reflected in state laws such as Louisiana’s abortion ban. We are witnessing the beginning of a decisive victory for the pro-life movement.”

Read Text of Louisiana Conditional Abortion Ban

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian organizations in the nation. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre- born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.