Louisiana Joins List of States That Have Banned Abortion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2019
Contact: Liza Dee, [email protected]

Statement from Andrea Miller, president, The National Institute for Reproductive Health

LOUISIANA – Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH), today released the following statement following the Louisiana legislature’s passage of another extreme abortion ban. The measure would prevent abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and is the latest in a string of outright bans on abortion access passed in states this year. It comes only days after a federal judge blocked a similar ban passed in Mississippi from going into effect.

“Louisiana’s action today is another attempt by a statehouse to legislate away women’s basic rights,” said Andrea Miller, president of NIRH. “This action is the latest in a concerted effort by anti-abortion extremists to upend abortion access across the nation. Were this to go into effect, it would further deprive women across the southeast of the United States the ability to access abortion care, impacting women’s lives and futures.”

“This attack is yet another reminder of the importance of states passing legislation that protects and expands access to abortion. The National Institute for Reproductive Health will continue to work with advocates at the local and state level to pass proactive legislation that guarantees that women are able to access the abortion care they need.”

For more than a decade, NIRH has been a leader in the fight to advance reproductive freedom across the country. Recently, they were integral to the successful effort to repeal an outdated criminal abortion ban in Massachusetts, and they led the fight to pass New York’s landmark Reproductive Health Act. Earlier this year, NIRH published a report tracking the passage of more than 100 bills to advance reproductive health, rights, and justice in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health builds power at the state and local level to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception.

Using a partnership model, NIRH provides state and local advocates with strategic guidance, hands-on support, and funding to create national change from the ground up. We form strategic partnerships with a wide range of organizations to directly impact the reproductive health and lives of women across the country. Each year, NIRH works in at least 20 states and more than a dozen localities; to date, NIRH has partnered with more than 170 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in 43 states and 64 localities across the country.