Bid to ban 15-week abortions expected to become law

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A bid to ban abortions after 15 weeks is expected to become law in Louisiana.

The Senate on Wednesday voted 24-1 to approve a proposal to outlaw 15-week abortions that would only take effect if a federal court upholds a similar ban in Mississippi.

Democratic Sen. John Milkovich sponsored the bill and has said he wants to see the state forbid all abortions.

His proposal would impose a prison sentence of up to two years for someone who performs the procedure after 15 weeks, though state law allows for a person who “commits the crime of abortion” to get up to a decade in prison. A woman couldn’t be criminally charged for having the procedure.

Gov. John Bel Edwards says he intends to sign the 15-week abortion ban.

“That is still my inclination. I am pro-life,” he said on his monthly radio show Wednesday.

Mississippi enacted a 15-week abortion ban in March. It was immediately challenged by the state’s only abortion clinic and a federal judge put the law on hold. That state now faces what’s expected to be a protracted legal battle.

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Senate Bill 181: www.legis.la.gov