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Senator Lindsey Graham has introduced legislation to ban abortion at the national level
Graham proposed an abortion law that would ban the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
A Louisiana woman was forced to travel thousands of miles to New York to have an abortion, which is illegal in her home state.
Nancy Davies, 36, told The Guardian her pregnancy was terminated on September 1. At 10 weeks pregnant, Davis learned that her fetus had acrania, a rare and fatal condition in which the baby’s skull fails to form. uterus
Davis was told that if she carried her pregnancy full term and delivered, the baby would last a very short time – from several minutes to a week. Doctors in Davis’ hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, advised her to have an abortion but were unable to perform the procedure, they said.
“Basically, they told me I had to carry my son to bury my son,” Davis said in August. “They seem confused by the law and afraid of what will happen to them.”
FILE – People take part in an abortion rights rally outside the Supreme Court. (Sarah Silbinger/Getty Images)
A doctor who performs an illegal abortion in Louisiana can face up to 15 years in prison.
During pregnancy and in the case of “medically futile” pregnancy – when an abnormal condition leading to the death of the fetus occurs – it prohibits all abortions except in cases of significant death or physical harm to the patient. There are no exceptions for rape or consanguineous relationships.
However, when Davis sought abortion, Louisiana’s trigger laws were widely criticized by Davis and abortion-rights advocates as vague and confusing.
Their concern was echoed in many other states, such as Louisiana, which enacted so-called trigger laws when the US Supreme Court’s 1973 decision affirming the constitutional right to abortion was overturned in Roe v. Wade.
Davis’ attorney, Ben Crump, said at a news conference in August that “Ms. Davis is one of the first women caught up in the confusion of Louisiana’s efforts to restrict abortion. . . .
About a dozen states currently prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy, some with narrow exceptions such as rape, family members or when the pregnant woman’s life is in danger.
RELATED: Graham unveils nationwide abortion plan after 15 weeks
In New Orleans, the City Council directed police and prosecutors not to use city funds to enforce the ban and make it a “low priority for enforcement.”
In the year Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican who is considered a potential gubernatorial candidate in 2023, described the city leaders’ opposition as a “dereliction of duty.”
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June, battles between Democratic city leaders and Republicans in staunchly red states have been taking place across the country.
Dozens of prosecutors nationwide — including in Florida — have vowed not to prosecute those who seek or provide abortions. In St. Louis, hours after the mayor signed a measure allowing $1 million to travel to abortion clinics in other states, Missouri’s attorney general challenged the ban. Similar to New Orleans, city councils in Austin, Texas, and Nashville have passed measures to push law enforcement to deprioritize abortion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
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