A Little Light in Louisiana : Governor Vetoes Restrictive Anti-Abortion Bill, but Watch Out

At least for the time being, Louisiana’s Gov. Buddy Roemer has put a stop to the runaway train of a bill that aimed to make doctors criminals and women prisoners of reproductive fate.

In vetoing what surely would have been the nation’s most restrictive anti-abortion law, Roemer took a courageous step beyond the passions of the moment. It was a bad law rushed through at the end of the legislative regular session; it started out as an anti-flag burning bill and was then transformed into an anti-abortion bill.

And not just any anti-abortion bill. The legislation Roemer vetoed would have instituted an unprecedented penalty on doctors of up to 10 years in prison at hard labor and a fine of up to $100,000.

Proponents of this narrow-minded bill saw it as another chance to overturn the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Under the Louisiana proposal, abortion would have been permitted only in the event of incest, if the pregnant woman’s life was in danger, or if a rape was reported within seven days. The proposed law allowed no “grace period” for women raped under circumstances in which they were incapacitated or unaware that a rape was occurring.

Even Roemer, who has said he opposes abortion, could not accept such harsh and inflexible terms. “I have grown in the belief that common sense, common decency and respect for women require that exceptions in an anti-abortion bill are required,” he said.

Of course, that’s not the end of the fight. Anti-abortion activists promise to try to pass a new bill; under Louisiana state law, the Legislature has until Aug. 18 to call itself back into session. It failed to override Roemer’s veto of an earlier all-out ban of abortions.

Perhaps Roemer, and some members of the Louisiana Legislature, sense that while many people express some ambivalence about abortion, most do not want their personal choices dictated by a vocal minority.