White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Condemns Louisiana Abortion Law
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed her dismay over Louisiana’s abortion law which will ban the procedure in almost all circumstances. She released a statement in which she reminded Louisiana lawmakers that “an overwhelming majority of the American people agree and reject these kinds of radical measures.”
Calling the law “radical,” she explained in a briefing that “Louisiana’s extreme bill will criminalize abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest and punish reproductive healthcare professionals with up to ten years in prison.”
“The Louisiana legislature has taken the latest step in a growing attack against the fundamental freedoms of Americans. Louisiana’s extreme bill will criminalize abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest and punish reproductive healthcare professionals with up to ten years in prison,” Jean-Pierre says in the statement. “The President is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of Americans afforded by Roe for nearly 50 years, and ensuring that women can make their own choices about their lives, bodies, and families. An overwhelming majority of the American people agree and reject these kinds of radical measures.”
The Louisiana law would ban most abortions, including in cases in which a girl or woman is impregnated through rape or incest. Should the law take effect, abortion clinics would close, and any doctor who performs an abortion procedure would potentially face criminal charges, local public radio station WWNO reports. The law holds few exceptions that would allow an abortion to be performed, although doctors will be permitted to terminate a pregnancy if the life of the mother is at imminent risk.
The Louisiana state Senate gave final approval to the bill on Sunday, sending it to Gov. John Bel Edwards’s desk. The Roman Catholic governor, who is a Democrat, opposes abortion in keeping with the teachings of his church, and is expected to sign the bill into law.
Louisiana is one of at least a dozen states that have so-called “trigger laws” in place. If Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court -- which reproductive rights advocates fear will happen later this June – the restrictive abortion laws would take immediate effect.
RELATED: Report: Draft Of SCOTUS Decision Would Overturn Roe v. Wade, Ending Constitutional Abortion Rights
In April, the justice’s plan to overturn the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was leaked to the press in a development that has reignited the abortion debate. Many in congress have called for abortion rights to be codified, or set into systematic code.
Biden has stated that the Roe decision “is based on a long line of precedent recognizing ‘the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty against government interference with intensely personal decisions.’”
