BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on legislative action on bills that would add new restrictions on abortion (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
State lawmakers in both the House and Senate have voted to triple the wait time for an abortion in Louisiana.
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.
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 longer wait period is supported by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards. But before the bill can get to his desk, the House must sign off on a technical wording change made in the Senate.
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House Bill 386: www.legis.la.gov
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10:40 a.m.
Louisiana’s lawmakers 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, a Bossier City Republican, stems from outcry over undercover videos, released by an anti-abortion group, that 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.
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Senate Bill 33: www.legis.la.gov
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