On Monday the Louisiana House of Representatives approved a bill that would require abortionists to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic.
The bill, which was approved by an overwhelming majority in the state House, 85-6, was a bipartisan effort backed by Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal and sponsored by Rep. Katrina Jackson, a Democrat who chairs the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus.
“This is about the safety of women,” Jackson said in a report by Reuters. She observed that a federal appeals court has upheld a Texas law that contains the same language as Louisiana’s bill.
Breitbart News received no response to requests for comment from Rep. Jackson.
The bill, which heads now to the state Senate, would make it mandatory for an abortionist to be an approved medical provider and to have a relationship with a local hospital whose facilities the abortionist can use in the event of an emergency during abortion procedures.
Melissa Flournoy, Louisiana director for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, warned that, should the bill eventually become law, at least three of the state’s five clinics could close.
Similarly, Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute, said Louisiana is part of a sweeping trend in the states to place restrictions on abortionists.
“Now the effort is to simply adopt enough abortion restrictions so that clinics can’t keep their doors open and women can’t navigate all the legal barriers put in their way,” Nash said.
Similar admitting privileges laws are in effect in North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. The Oklahoma House has also approved an abortion measure similar to the one in Louisiana.
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