LA Gov Bans most Abortions

June 18, 2006

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Louisiana Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco

signed into law a ban on most abortions, which would be triggered if

the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 ruling legalizing

the procedure, a spokesman said on Saturday.

The ban would apply to all abortions, even in cases of rape or

incest, except when the mother's life is threatened. It is similar

to a South Dakota law that has become the latest focus of the

abortion battle.

The South Dakota law was enacted partly to invite a court challenge

in the hope a more conservative Supreme Court would overturn

its Roe v. Wade decision that established a woman's right to

abortion.

The Louisiana ban would take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Medicaid, which provides health benefits for the poor and disabled,

requires funding for abortions in cases of rape or incest. Louisiana

would allow those exceptions so long as it was required for Medicaid

funding.

Seven states have such abortion trigger laws, and Louisiana already

had a trigger law, although abortion legislation has been blocked by

courts. The new law would mean the ban would happen quicker in the

case of a new Supreme Court decision.

Blanco cited "overwhelming" support for the bill in the state

Legislature.

"The central provision of the bill supports and reflects my personal

beliefs," she said in a statement, adding she had hoped for

legislation with exceptions for rape and incest.

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said lawmakers

were focused on the wrong thing, especially as the state rebuilds

from Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans last August.

"It is hard to believe that by passing this ban they are addressing

what is most on the minds of most of the citizens of Louisiana," she

told Reuters.

Most U.S. states have some limits on abortion linked to gestation of

the fetus and often based on viability, essentially the ability to

live outside the womb.

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