72-hour wait time for abortions in La. nears final passage

By MELINDA DESLATTE - Associated Press - Tuesday, May 3, 2016

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A proposal to triple the wait time for an abortion in Louisiana is nearing final legislative passage, winning support from an overwhelming number of state lawmakers in both the House and Senate.

A woman in Louisiana currently has to wait 24 hours from the time she consults with a doctor and gets a mandatory ultrasound to the moment she gets an abortion. The proposal, approved by the Senate on Tuesday in a 34-4 vote, would require a woman to wait 72 hours.

Five other states have similar waits, which is the longest in the country.

Louisiana’s proposal includes an exception from the lengthened wait time for women who live 150 miles or more from the nearest abortion clinic.

The longer wait period is supported by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards. But before the bill by Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R-West Monroe, can get to his desk, the House must sign off on a technical wording change made in the Senate. That wasn’t expected to be a problem, since the House already voted 89-5 for the bill.

Senators didn’t debate the measure Tuesday, approving it quickly.

Supporters say the extension would give women more time to consider alternatives to abortion. Opponents say if passed, the 72-hour wait likely would face a court challenge from those who says it would create an undue burden to a legal medical procedure.

During committee debate, senators stripped the exception for women who live 150 miles from a clinic, but that was reinstated with no objection on the Senate floor.

Lawmakers also are close to enacting a prohibition on collecting, selling, transporting or donating fetal tissue from an abortion.

The Senate-approved bill was backed by the House health committee without objection Tuesday. It heads to the full House for debate.

The measure by Sen. Ryan Gatti, R-Bossier City, stems from outcry over undercover videos, released by an anti-abortion group, which purported to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal body parts in other states.

The organization denied the allegation, saying the videos were misleading.

Under Gatti’s bill, violators would face a prison sentence of at least 10 years and up to 50 years. The ban wouldn’t apply to donations of fetal tissue for stem cell research or umbilical cord blood.