Louisiana Legislative Session 5.6.2024

As we enter the home stretch of this legislative session, we must continue to stay the course and stay strong in our commitment to fight, no matter what. As our lawmakers further expose their priorities of advancing dangerous political agendas over protecting our health and rights, we will shine a light on their hypocrisy and extremism. We don’t back down, and we need your support ahead of another busy week in Baton Rouge.

Don’t forget to share this form with friends, families, and colleagues who need these updates in their own inboxes.

ICYMI:

Let’s lead with some encouraging news: Following bipartisan pushback, the Landry administration reversed its initial decision and will now participate in the federally funded, state-administered summer feeding program. The House unanimously approved a budget to cover administrative costs to run the program, also known as Summer EBT, which provides extra funds to families in need to feed their children once they’re out of school. And in other good news, bipartisan pushback also led to the deferment of two House bills targeting libraries and librarians that were straight out of the national censorship playbook. 

Legislation intended to protect IVF providers passed through the House by a vote of 84-16. While this is an encouraging step toward protecting reproductive health care, we are far from addressing the core issues of political interference in private medical decisions. We will not forget that the same laws and policies that put IVF at risk are part of the anti-abortion movement’s long-term strategy to take away all of our reproductive freedom. All decisions about if, when, and how to become parents should always be left to individuals and their health care providers, not their state legislators. See how your representative voted on the IVF bill here.

• In a sneak attack last Tuesday, the House Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) committee approved SB 276 with a new amendment that would add mifepristone and misoprostol to Schedule IV in the state’s Controlled Substances Act, a transparent attempt to stoke anti-abortion fear and to further isolate patients and surveil and criminalize pregnancy outcomes in Louisiana. The medications included in Schedule IV have the potential for abuse or dependency, yet neither mifepristone nor misoprostol fit that description. Mifepristone and misoprostol are long-proven safe and effective medications used in the majority of abortions in the U.S. and also  routinely prescribed for miscarriage management, inducing labor, and even GI ulcer prevention (misoprostol). Reclassifying these safe and common medications as dangerous controlled substances could have far-reaching consequences, including policing pregnancy outcomes, delaying lifesaving care, and worsening Louisiana’s already devastating maternal health crisis. You can call bill author Sen. Thomas Pressly’s office at 318-862-9920 to let him know you oppose this amendment. Be sure to include your name, address, and that you don’t support adding these medications to the list of controlled substances because they are needed for miscarriage management and other essential health care. 

House ACJ was so busy sneaking in further barriers to safe health care that they were unable to vote on bills that might actually help their constituents: Rep. Delisha Boyd’s bill to add rape and incest exceptions to the total abortion ban and Rep. Candace Newell’s proposals to clarify treatment for complications and dangerous health conditions in pregnancy. These bills have been rescheduled in ACJ for this Tuesday morning. To contact your legislator to support Rep. Boyd’s proposed exceptions for survivors of sexual assault, use this advocacy form. And to urge your legislator to support Rep. Newell’s bills to clarify and protect treatment for miscarriage and pregnancy complications, use this action alert.

As anti-abortion lawmakers continue to double down on their dangerous agendas, it’s even more essential that we make our voices heard on the bills seeking to mitigate the harm of our devastating abortion ban and remind lawmakers that we are the majority—and they work for us. This week, we’re calling on supporters to help us pack the committee room on Tuesday in support of Rep. Boyd’s and Rep. Newell’s bills: Submit this form if you are interested in joining us.