Louisiana Governor at Focal Point of Fight Over Tough Abortion Bill
The abortion battle in Louisiana became a war of words Tuesday, with people on both sides of the issue trying to persuade Gov. Buddy Roemer either to sign or veto what could become the nation’s toughest anti-abortion law.
Roemer also said a telegram apparently from Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa was a “powerful message” urging him to sign the bill, but he reiterated his intention to veto it because it does not contain exceptions for rape and incest.
Anti-abortion forces descended on the Capitol to stage an afternoon rally, perhaps their last effort to convince Roemer to sign the bill.
The event marked the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services decision giving states permission to restrict abortions.
The Rev. Larry Stockstill, pastor of a Baton Rouge church, led the crowd of about 3,000 in a rendition of “Jesus Loves the Little Children” and said it might take “a supernatural intervention of God to override that veto.”
About 50 abortion rights activists held a noon news conference on the steps of the Capitol with Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” in the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand.
On July 3, 1989, the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 that states could restrict abortions.
The state Legislature responded by passing a bill that would ban every abortion except in cases where a woman’s life was threatened by the pregnancy.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
