Louisiana joins Utah, Oklahoma and other states as it passes three day wait for an abortion
Louisiana has become the sixth state recently to enact a 72-hour waiting period for pregnant mothers seeking an abortion as Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards signed HB 386, the “Woman’s Enhanced Reflection Act,” replacing the state’s prior waiting period of 24 hours.
The new waiting period, the longest in the country, begins after the mother attends a counseling session with a doctor and receives an ultrasound of the child.
photo Alyson Jones
“This important bill empowers women considering abortion with additional reflection time before an abortion so they can consider their options more effectively,” said Louisiana Right to Life Legislative Director Deanna Wallace.
“Since abortion facilities in Louisiana are only in the business of selling abortion,” she continued, “this reflection period allows for further consideration of other choices, including adoption and parenting.”
The new law, which excludes pregnant women who live 150 miles or more from the nearest abortion facility, was a bill passed April 6 by the state’s House of Representatives in an 89-5 vote, and later passed in the Senate 34-4 on May 11. It goes into effect August 1 after a failed Supreme Court blockage.
Louisiana, which also passed a dismemberment abortion ban last month, joins the states of Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah in having a 72-hour waiting period.
“We feel that this [law] is overstepping certainly,” Megan Snider, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Coalition Reproductive Freedom, told WDSU New Orleans. “We have, in our state, limited facilities as it is, so imposing a 72-hour wait has been shown to actually extend the delay to approximately eight days.”
