May 29, 2019 Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
05.29.19

Contact: Alexa Barrett, Communications Assistant
Email: alexa@equityfwd.org 
Phone: 914-602-3147

Equity Forward Files Records Request Following Louisiana Abortion Ban Vote
Law advances following confirmation of judge and anti-abortion advocate Wendy Vitter, bans in Alabama and Missouri

05.29.19 – Just now, the Louisiana legislature voted to advance a law that will effectively ban abortion in the state. In response, Equity Forward filed a public records request seeking communications from all of the bill’s sponsors in the legislature about the harmful bill. Under Louisiana law, custodians must immediately present any records not in active use.

View the public records request HERE.

“What’s happening in Louisiana is part of a coordinated effort by the anti-abortion lobby to challenge women’s access to abortion,” said Michelle Kuppersmith, Director of Equity Forward. “In advancing this legislation, lawmakers are interfering with women’s private decisions, and Louisianians deserve full transparency around these tactics.”
 
Kuppersmith continued, “Equity Forward will continue to support the efforts of advocates working to promote widespread, fair, equal access to reproductive care in Louisiana.” 

The law advanced following the confirmation of Wendy Vitter, a staunch anti-abortion advocate who once argued that Planned Parenthood “kills over 150,000 females a year,” to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. 

Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to sign the bill, which would make Louisiana the ninth state to pass a law severely restricting women’s access to abortion care in 2019.

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