Louisiana lawmakers on both side of the aisle have voted against including homicide charges against women in an abortion bill.
State representative Danny McCormick had introduced HB813, also known as the Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act.
On Thursday, the Louisiana House passed an amendment to replace the controversial bill and will no longer press criminal charges against women who have abortions.
The amendment received a 65-26 vote, including from lawmakers who are against abortion.
In a statement, Governor John Bel Edwards, who is a democrat and anti-abortion, described the bill as “radical” and “not a pro-life bill.”
He went on to call it “patently unconstitutional.”
Republican representative Alan Seabaugh agreed and said the bill “makes criminals out of women,” adding that it “would not prevent a single abortion.”
The bill would have defined life as beginning at the moment of fertilization and would have made abortion illegal at any point in the pregnancy.
Some forms of contraception and some fertility treatments would also be made illegal under the bill.
HB813 will likely be dead for the rest of the legislative session.
