La. House Bill Would Categorize Coercing Minor's Abortion as Abuse
May 3, 2013 — A Louisiana House committee on Wednesday approved a measure (HB 278) that would add coercing a minor into an abortion to a list of acts that constitute child abuse, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
The bill -- proposed by state Rep. Valerie Hodges (R) -- defines coercion as the use of force, intimidation, threat of force or deprivation of food or shelter.
According to the Times-Picayune, the bill would not allow exceptions if the girl's health or life is at risk, except in cases of ectopic pregnancies, but it would allow parents to suggest a daughter obtain an abortion in cases of fetal demise or if she is in the process of miscarrying (Adelson, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 5/1).
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Repro Health Watch — an exciting new edition of the Women’s Health Policy Report — compiles and distributes media coverage of proposed and enacted state laws and ballot initiatives affecting women's access to comprehensive reproductive health care, as well as litigation in response to those provisions.
