Last week the Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved a bill that would require that clinics providing abortion services post signs indicating that a woman cannot be forced to obtain an abortion and that her partner is legally obligated to pay child support. The signs must also state that services are available to help women during and following their pregnancies and that adoptive parents may be able to offer financial assistance with the pregnancy.
Moreover, if the bill passes, abortion providers would be required to notify women about a state Department of Health and Hospitals abortion alternatives website that includes information about adoption services, so-called crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs),which do not offer women neutral or comprehensive medical advice, fetal development, and fetal pain, which is discredited by medical experts.
The bill has already passed the state House and will go to the state Senate for a vote. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) has announced his support for the bill.
