Republicans in Louisiana are now pushing to reclassify abortion as homicide, which could result in criminally charging mothers who terminate their pregnancies.
The Lafayette Daily Advertiser reports that the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday voted to advance new legislation that would classify abortion as murder.
Louisiana State Rep. Danny McCormick said that the Republicans were advancing the legislation despite the fact that such a law would be deemed unconstitutional under the precedent set by Roe v. Wade.
"We can't wait on the Supreme Court," he said, as he expects that the court will move to formally overturn Roe in the coming weeks.
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The Rev. Brian Gunter of First Baptist Church in Livingston, Louisiana, who helped author the bill, said there could be no compromise in issues of abortion.
"No more waiting," Gunter said. "The bloodshed in our land is so great we have a duty... to protect the least of these among us."
Earlier this week, a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito showed that the court is poised to upend nearly 50 years of judicial precedent by overturning the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that established the constitutional right to an abortion.
Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the leak, but he said that it does not yet reflect the court's final position.