The Louisiana legislature voted to ban an abortion procedure Tuesday where the doctor removes a living unborn baby from the womb by a combination of suction and a surgical instrument.
Gov. John Bel Edwards intends to sign the ban, which would make Louisiana the sixth state to ban what’s called a dilation and evacuation abortion procedure, reports The Associated Press. The state Senate passed the bill in a 36-2 vote with no debate Tuesday, after all 83 representatives in the State house, including 25 Democrats and two Independents, approved the bill in April.
Doctors commonly use the dilation and evacuation method in second trimester abortions. The abortionist artificially dilates the woman’s cervix, then simply reaches into the womb with metal forceps and pulls the fetus out piece by piece. Lastly, the abortionist vacuums or scrapes out any leftover flesh and blood to make sure no remains cause an infection in the woman.
“The fetus in many cases dies just as an adult would,” Republican Rep. Mike Johnson, who sponsored the bill and is running for Congress, recently told a USA Today affiliate. “It bleeds to death as it is torn limb from limb. There are many who say this is the preferred method not because it is better but because it is cheaper.”
A second bill banning any abortion procedure undertaken because the unborn child has a genetic defect, such as Down syndrome, stalled in the Senate over concerns about whether the law is constitutional. Twenty-one Democrats joined 52 Republicans to pass the bill in the House, over the objection of one Democrat.
Persons found guilty of violating either bill would face fines or imprisonment, and violation of either bill is grounds for civil suit from the women or biological fathers of the aborted fetuses in such cases.
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