La. Senate Approves Bill Banning Abortion After 20 Weeks
May 24, 2012 — The Louisiana Senate on Tuesday voted 35-0 to approve a bill (SB 766) that would make it a crime to perform an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the premise that a fetus can feel pain after that stage, WAFB reports.
The bill says the state should protect "the lives of unborn children from the stage at which substantial medical evidence indicates that they are capable of feeling pain."
The bill would provide an exception for a woman whose life would be endangered by continuing the pregnancy. The bill calls for a prison sentence of up to two years for physicians who violate the measure (WAFB, 5/22).
The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
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The Editors
Debra Ness, publisher & president, National Partnership
Andrea Friedman, associate editor & director of reproductive health programs, National Partnership
Marya Torrez, associate editor & senior reproductive health policy counsel, National Partnership
Melissa Safford, associate editor & policy advocate for reproductive health, National Partnership
Perry Sacks, assistant editor & health program associate, National Partnership
Cindy Romero, assistant editor & communications assistant, National Partnership
Justyn Ware, editor
Amanda Wolfe, editor-in-chief
Heather Drost, Hanna Jaquith, Marcelle Maginnis, Ashley Marchand and Michelle Stuckey, staff writers
Tucker Ball, director of new media, National Partnership
