Democracy Dies in Darkness

Louisiana Republicans advance bill that would charge abortion as homicide

Antiabortion advocates pointed to the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion proposing to overturn Roe v. Wade to justify the measure

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May 5, 2022 at 10:53 a.m. EDT
Antiabortion demonstrators sit outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights, Ill., on March 8. They were part of protests during Lent that were held outside reproductive health clinics across the United States. (Neeta Satam for The Washington Post)
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Republicans in the Louisiana House advanced a bill Wednesday that would classify abortion as homicide and allow prosecutors to criminally charge patients, with supporters citing a draft opinion leaked this week showing the Supreme Court ready to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The legislation, which passed through a committee on a 7-to-2 vote, goes one step further than other antiabortion bans that have gained momentum in recent years, which focus on punishing abortion providers and others who help facilitate the procedure. Experts say the bill could also restrict in vitro fertilization and emergency contraception because it would grant constitutional rights to a person “from the moment of fertilization.”