Louisiana voters passed an amendment Tuesday stating that the state constitution does not protect “the right to an abortion” or the funding of an abortion.
The amendment, known as the Love Life Amendment, will update the state’s constitution to say that “nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
Authored by a pro-life Democrat, state Sen. Katrina Jackson, the bill passed with nearly 65.5% of the vote and support from Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Jackson said that this amendment does not ban abortions in the state, but prevents courts from reading a right to abortion into the state’s laws.
Under this new amendment, only the state legislature will have the power to determine whether abortion can or cannot be restricted, she explained.
“It’s important to understand that Amendment 1 is not a ban on abortion. It simply keeps abortion policy in the hands of our legislators rather than state judges,” she wrote in an op-ed for The Advocate last month.
Jackson framed the amendment as a compromise, arguing that basic pro-choice laws are more at risk if the pro-choice movement does not make necessary concessions.
“Our body of pro-life laws ensure that women are empowered with the truth about their pregnancy prior to an abortion, that minors seeking an abortion have parental consent, and that babies born alive following a botched abortion receive immediate medical care,” Jackson said. “Our law also makes sure that not a dollar of your state tax dollars fund abortion. Yet these laws and others are at risk unless we pass Amendment 1.”
But Louisiana is well on its way to restricting abortion access even further. The state already has what’s known as a trigger law, which would automatically ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
And though its other pro-life efforts have been rebuffed by the Supreme Court, Louisiana Republicans remain hopeful that pro-life wins are in the near future.
“We are just so thankful, so happy that women and babies can be supported in this state,” Angie Thomas, associate director of the Louisiana Right to Life, said.
“We are really dedicated to moving into a next chapter, which will be where abortion becomes unthinkable because every woman has enough support and love,” Thomas said.
