When the U.S. Supreme Court pulled the plug on the Roe v. Wade decision that gave women the right to control their reproductive lives for half a century, Louisiana politicians were ready. There were already laws on the books making abortion illegal in all but the narrowest of circumstances, including a constitutional amendment adopted by voters. And when a draft opinion leaked from the high court's offices signaled that the end of Roe was imminent, lawmakers rushed to pass still more laws.
Nobody was going to misunderstand the intent of the politicians on this one … except maybe the politicians themselves.
Did they get that a law that allows for the prosecution and imprisonment of doctors — particularly in the hands of a zealously conservative attorney general — would send the health care system into a defensive crouch, and prompt the denial of safe and compassionate care for women with difficult pregnancies or those experiencing miscarriages?
How could they not? Louisiana’s Legislature may be overwhelmingly male, but an awful lot of lawmakers are lawyers who must know that such legal threats create a chilling environment. And it’s not like there weren’t hours of testimony explaining the realities of reproductive health, and horror story upon horror story about the bad old days.
Yet in just the last few months, some of those old stories have become new again. Nancy Davis of Baton Rouge was denied an abortion in Louisiana after learning that the baby she wanted would be born without a skull and had to travel to New York to end the pregnancy. Kaitlyn Joshua, also of Baton Rouge, said she could not get treatment for bleeding and pain early in her pregnancy, according to reporting by WWNO.
The most charitable explanation is that the new legal landscape is at best confusing, at worst treacherous for women and their doctors. So, who’s fault is that exactly?
Of course, we’ll never know the names of most people struggling under the new laws. For every Nancy Davis, who went defiantly public, think of the women who miscarry and have to worry about being able to get routine treatment to head off dangerous complications. And think of the women — and girls — who are victims of rape or incest, being told by politicians that they must carry a resulting pregnancy to term. And then think of those forced into what’s often a hardship of traveling to a far-off state where their rights over their own reproduction have not been suddenly stripped away. And of those who will choose not to move to a state where they have to worry about such things, and what that means for Louisiana’s desire to reverse chronic out-migration and build a 21st-century economy.
Also, think of the medical professionals who have to figure out how to provide their patients with the best care — with the threat of prison hanging over their heads.
There was a sign last week that a key figure in the state’s anti-abortion movement is thinking of at least a few of those things.
State Sen. Katrina Jackson, the Monroe Democrat who has authored some of the state's harshest anti-abortion legislation, said she’s considering dialing things back during this year’s session, at least a bit.
Jackson told Greg Hilburn of the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana that, "If it needs clarification for health care professionals to feel comfortable, then we will. I envision language saying at no point should treatment for miscarriages be considered abortion."
Hilburn asked whether she’d also consider adding rape and incest exceptions, which Gov. John Bel Edwards, who signed Jackson’s bill, indicated he’d support. She said that she’s “reviewing the bill in its entirety.”
That would be a start, although unfortunately Jackson said she’s satisfied with a provision on futile pregnancies, despite Davis’ experience.
That doesn’t mean others can’t push for more changes. Look for state Rep. Mandie Landry of New Orleans, a former Democrat who is now not affiliated with a party, to be a leading voice on making the law less Draconian, but she’d need help from courageous lawmakers from the Republican majority who are willing to reconsider what they’ve created.
It was 50 years ago today that the Roe decision legalized abortion nationwide. Even before Roe fell, though, access had been restricted in Louisiana piece by piece; realistically, this state is never going to offer women the rights that they lost when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June.
So it should surprise nobody that the end of the Roe era has forced a brutal reality check on Louisiana women and their doctors.
The Legislature is overdue for one as well.