Louisiana

Louisiana maintains some of the nation’s most comprehensive laws protecting the health and safety of women seeking abortions and providing legal recognition and protection to the unborn.  In 2012, the state enacted additional protections, including a measure banning abortions at or after 20 weeks gestation based on the pain felt by an unborn child, a requirement that ultrasound images be displayed and an audible heartbeat be provided to a woman before abortion, and a measure urging Congress to defund Planned Parenthood.

Abortion:

• Louisiana has declared that “the unborn child is a human being from the time of conception and is, therefore, a legal person for purposes of the unborn child’s right to life and is entitled to the right to life from conception under the laws and Constitution of this state.”
• Louisiana has enacted a measure banning all abortions once Roe v. Wade is overturned.  While the ban includes an exception for life endangerment, there is no exception for rape or incest.
• The state prohibits abortions at or after 20 weeks gestation based on the pain felt by an unborn child.
• Louisiana bans partial-birth abortion throughout pregnancy except when necessary to save the life of the woman.  The measure creates a civil cause of action for violations of the ban.  It also contains more stringent criminal penalties than the federal law, imposing a sentence of hard labor or imprisonment for one to ten years and/or a fine of $10,000 to $100,000.
• A physician may not perform an abortion until at least 24 hours after a woman has been provided information about the proposed abortion procedure, the alternatives to abortion, the probable gestational age of the unborn child, the risks associated with abortion, and the risks associated with carrying the child to term.  She must also be told about available medical assistance benefits, the father’s legal responsibilities, and that her consent for an abortion may be withdrawn or withheld without any loss of government benefits.
• Importantly, to ensure that informed consent information focuses on a woman’s individual circumstances and that she has an adequate opportunity to ask questions, the information must be provided to the woman individually and in a room that protects her privacy.
• Louisiana maintains a website providing information on informed consent and abortion alternatives.  Abortion providers must give women the internet address following their first contact.
• Louisiana also provides a booklet describing the development of the unborn child; describing abortion methods and their risks; providing a list of public and private agencies, including adoption agencies, that are available to provide assistance; providing information about state medical assistance benefits; and describing a physician’s liability for failing to obtain a woman’s informed consent prior to an abortion.  Printed materials must include a comprehensive list of facilities that offer obstetric ultrasounds free of charge.
• In addition, a woman considering abortion must receive information about fetal pain.  She must be told about the availability of anesthesia or analgesics to prevent pain to the unborn child.  Further, the mandatory informed consent materials state that, by 20 weeks gestation, an unborn child can experience and respond to pain and that anesthesia is routinely administered to unborn children for prenatal surgery at 20 weeks gestation or later.
• Louisiana mandates that an ultrasound be performed before an abortion and requires that the person performing the ultrasound read a “script” that includes offering the woman a copy of the ultrasound print.  In 2012, the state supplemented this requirement, mandating that the ultrasound images be displayed and an audible heartbeat be provided to a woman before abortion.
• The state requires abortion providers to state in their printed materials that it is illegal for someone to coerce a woman into having an abortion.  Further, abortion providers must post signs declaring that “it is unlawful for anyone to make you have an abortion against your will, even if you are a minor.”
• A woman seeking an abortion following rape or incest and using state funds to pay for the abortion must be offered the same informed consent information (without the 24-hour reflection period) as is required for other abortions in the state.
• A physician may not perform an abortion on an unemancipated minor under the age of 18 without notarized, written consent from one parent unless there is a medical emergency or the minor obtains a court order.
• Louisiana requires the licensing of abortion clinics and imposes minimum health and safety standards in a variety of areas, including clinic administration, professional qualifications, patient testing, physical plant, and post-operative care.  Abortion providers must also maintain admitting privileges.
• Louisiana law allows state officials to close an abortion clinic for any violation of state or federal law and excludes any healthcare provider performing an elective, post-viability abortion from the state’s medical malpractice insurance program.
• Only physicians licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana may perform abortions.
• The state has an enforceable abortion reporting law, but does not require the reporting of information to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  The measure requires abortion providers to report short-term complications and the name and address of the hospital or facility where treatment was provided for the complications.
• Louisiana follows the federal standard for Medicaid funding for abortions, only permitting the use of federal or state matching Medicaid funds for abortions necessary to preserve the life of the woman or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
• Public funds may not be used “for, to assist in, or to provide facilities for an abortion, except when the abortion is medically necessary to prevent the death of the mother.”
• The state prohibits insurance companies from offering abortion coverage within state insurance Exchanges established pursuant to the federal healthcare law (required to be operational by 2014).
• Louisiana funds programs providing direct support for groups and organizations promoting abortion alternatives.
• Louisiana also offers “Choose Life” license plates, the proceeds of which benefit pregnancy care centers and/or other organizations providing abortion alternatives.

Legal Recognition of Unborn and Newly Born:

• Under Louisiana criminal law, the killing of an unborn child at any stage of gestation is defined as a form of homicide.  In addition, an “unborn child” is a victim of a “feticide” if killed during the perpetration of certain crimes, including robbery and cruelty to juveniles.
• Louisiana defines a nonfatal assault on an unborn child as a criminal offense.
• The state allows a wrongful death (civil) action when an unborn child at any stage of development is killed through a negligent or criminal act.
• The state has created a specific affirmative duty of physicians to provide medical care and treatment to infants born alive at any stage of development.
• Under the Louisiana Children’s Code, “neglect” includes instances when a newborn is identified by a healthcare provider as having been affected by prenatal drug use or exhibiting symptoms of drug withdrawal.  In 2007, Louisiana expanded the definition of “prenatal neglect” to include 1) “exposure to chronic or severe use of alcohol,” 2) the use of any controlled dangerous substance “in a manner not lawfully prescribed” that results in symptoms of withdrawal to the newborn, 3) the presence of a controlled substance or related metabolite in the newborn, or 4) observable and harmful effects in the newborn’s appearance or functioning.  The measure requires reporting by physicians to the appropriate state agency.  The state also funds drug treatment programs for pregnant women and newborns.

Bioethics Laws:

• Louisiana prohibits destructive embryo research and the funding of human cloning (although it does not explicitly ban human cloning).
• Louisiana does not fully ban fetal experimentation, instead prohibiting only experimentation on live born human beings or fetuses in utero.
• Louisiana bans the creation of chimeras (human-animal hybrids).
• The state has established the “Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Program” to promote public awareness of the potential benefits of cord blood banking, to encourage research into the uses of cord blood, to facilitate pre-delivery arrangements for cord blood donations, and to promote professional education programs.
• The state regulates assisted reproductive technologies.
• Louisiana law allows for embryo adoption.

End of Life Laws:

• In Louisiana, assisted suicide is a felony.

Healthcare Rights of Conscience Laws:

Participation in Abortion:

• Any person has the right not to participate in or be required to participate in any healthcare service that violates his or her conscience (including abortion and the provision of abortion-inducing drugs) to the extent that “access to health care is not compromised.”  The person’s conscientious beliefs must be in writing and patients must be notified.  The law is not to be construed as relieving any healthcare provider from providing “emergency care.”

• A healthcare facility must ensure that it has sufficient staff to provide patient care in the event an employee declines to participate in any healthcare service that violates his or her conscience.

Participation in Research Harmful to Human Life:

• Any person has the right not to participate in or be required to participate in any healthcare service that violates his or her conscience (including human embryonic stem-cell research, human embryo cloning, euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide) to the extent that “access to health care is not compromised.”  The person’s conscientious beliefs must be in writing and patients must be notified.  The law is not to be construed as relieving any healthcare provider from providing “emergency care.”

• A healthcare facility must ensure that it has sufficient staff to provide patient care in the event an employee declines to participate in any healthcare service that violates his or her conscience.

What Happened in 2012:

• Louisiana enacted a prohibition of abortions at or after 20 weeks gestation based on the pain felt by an unborn child.
• It also amended its existing ultrasound requirement to mandate that ultrasound images be displayed and an audible heartbeat be provided to a woman before abortion.
• The Louisiana legislature adopted a resolution urging Congress to defund Planned Parenthood.
• Louisiana also considered legislation related to an abortion provider’s liability in civil lawsuits or for violations of state abortion-related laws.
• A challenge to Louisiana’s 2010 law allowing state officials to close an abortion clinic for any violation of state or federal law and excluding any healthcare provider performing an elective, post-viability abortion from the state’s medical malpractice insurance program was dismissed by a federal district court.
• Louisiana considered measures relating to advance planning documents and measures relating to pain management and palliative care.

Top Priorities:

• Defunding the Abortion Industry and Advancing Women’s Health Act
• Abortion Patients’ Enhanced Safety Act
• Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act

Other Priorities:

Abortion:

• Parental Involvement Enhancements Act
• Child Protection Act

Legal Recognition and Protection for the Unborn:

• Prohibition on wrongful birth and wrongful life lawsuits
• Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act

Bioethics:

• Human Cloning Prohibition Act
• Assisted Reproductive Technologies Disclosure and Risk Reduction Act