A Louisiana House committee killed a bill Wednesday that would have exempted rape or incest survivors from the state's strict abortion ban, which took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.
House Bill 346 was a legislative priority of Gov. John Bel Edwards and was among several bills this legislative session that seek to soften the ban. The House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee voted the measure down, 10-5, after more than two hours of testimony.
Before the vote, pro-abortion witnesses described how the ban has forced a sea change in reproductive health care since Roe was rendered void — including for rape and incest survivors, some of whom have left the state in search of the procedure to avoid carrying their rapist's child.
They argued that survivors are further harmed when they are forced to give birth.
Anti-abortion witnesses in turn offered a full-throated defense of keeping the ban in place for abuse survivors.
They argued on religious and moral grounds that the bill was detrimental to survivors, saying a woman's wish to get an abortion is likely a misguided one, regardless of how the pregnancy occurred.
The committee was still poised to hear testimony on three more bills related to abortion ban exceptions Wednesday morning.