Let’s Protest Mother’s Day
Unless motherhood is freely and willfully entered into, then it is nothing to celebrate-down with Hallmark!
by Elaine Gilmartin
According to Reproductive Rights Today this past Wednesday, Louisiana House of Representatives committee scuttled legislation Tuesday to create exceptions to the state’s abortion ban for minors who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest. Their vote came after highly emotional testimony from supporters of the proposal.
The House Committee on Criminal Justice voted 7–4 to reject House Bill 169 that would have allowed persons 17 and younger to have an abortion if they became pregnant after a sexual assault. All seven legislators who voted against the legislation are Republicans.
“That baby is innocent,” said Republican Rep. Dodie Horton. GOP Rep. Lauren Ventrella said the proposed law would be difficult to enforce. She suggested that teenagers who had consensual sex might feign rape or incest in order to get access to abortion services.
Democratic Rep. Delisha Boyd said she introduced the bill to protect children who are attacked and taken advantage of by older men. Boyd has been open about being the product of a child rape. Her birth father — who she refers to as a “sperm donor” — was a 28-year-old man who assaulted her 15-year-old mother. Boyd’s mother never got…
