Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to their state constitution declaring that abortion is not a constitutional right.
Amendment 1, called the “Love Life Amendment,” states: “To protect human life, nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
On Tuesday, 62 percent of voters approved the measure, with 38 percent opposed. This is hardly surprising considering that Louisiana is a strongly pro-life state: A 2019 poll of likely voters commissioned by Louisiana Right to Life found that 70 percent considered themselves pro-life and 71 percent opposed taxpayer funding of abortion.
State Senator Katrina Jackson, a Democrat who co-authored the Love Life Amendment with Republican state Senator Beth Mizell, explained the purpose of the measure in a letter to the Advocate, a Baton Rouge newspaper.
“The amendment would simply ensure that judges cannot circumvent Louisiana’s body of pro-life laws by finding a right to abortion or the taxpayer funding of abortion,” she wrote, noting that “this has happened in 13 other states,” including Kansas, where the state supreme court declared a law banning late-term abortions unconstitutional.
Furthermore, she asserted:
It’s important to understand that Amendment 1 is not a ban on abortion. It simply keeps abortion policy in the hands of our legislators rather than state judges. If Amendment 1 passes, our Legislature would still have the ability to modify any state abortion law. Therefore, Amendment 1 has nothing to do with commonly debated exceptions to abortion. All of those matters can still be handled in the state legislative process.
That is not to say that legislators of both parties aren’t looking to ban abortion. They have already passed laws prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, after a fetal heartbeat is detected, and by dilation and evacuation (which pro-lifers accurately call “dismemberment”). They have also mandated a 72-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions, and they passed Amendment 1, putting it on the ballot. Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards signed all the bills into law and supported Amendment 1. In addition, in 2006 the legislature passed, and then-Governor Kathleen Blanco, also a Democrat, signed a law that would ban most abortions in the state in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned.
“This is a critical moment for an amendment like this to be on the ballot,” Michelle Erenberg, executive director of the pro-abortion group Lift Louisiana, told NBC News. “If we do see Roe v. Wade overturned, it would be used to bolster and solidify the legislature’s efforts to outright ban abortion in the state.”
Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, was extremely pleased that Amendment 1 passed, especially by such a large margin.
“Louisiana has overwhelmingly passed the Love Life Amendment and shown its love for mothers and babies!” Clapper said. “With the passage of this amendment, our citizens have mandated that state judges can never use our Constitution to enshrine abortion or the taxpayer funding of abortion in Louisiana. We the people, through our legislators, can pass laws defending life without the intervention of judges.”
“We look forward to the day Roe v. Wade is overturned and Louisiana can once again protect all our citizens, including those waiting to be born,” he continued. “Moving forward, the pro-life movement will continue to support mothers and babies and work toward a day when every child is protected by law and welcomed with love in our nation.”
