Ongoing legal battles over abortion access rage on in multiple states.
The Louisiana House passed one of the country's most restrictive abortion laws on Wednesday evening, limiting abortions performed on women once a fetal heartbeat is detected, with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a pro-life Democrat, said in a statement after the bill was passed that he is preparing to sign the legislation.
Gov. Mike Parson detailed how the state's department of health has reportedly issued warnings of"deficiencies of care" over the past two months. He also said the physicians in the clinic were allegedly not following state laws relating to required pelvic exams of those seeking abortions. That procedure is a conflict point in and of itself, as abortion rights advocates see it as a medically unnecessary procedure.
Parson said that five of the seven doctors at the clinic declined to participate in interviews by the health department investigators. Later, when pressed on what the interviews would cover, Parson said,"We want to know what took place… The important thing here is to find out the facts. What really is going on in there? What happened?"
Outside of Missouri, abortion advocates and opponents are also closely watching for any moves in Louisiana, as the state's Democratic governor is expected to break with his party and sign a so-called heartbeat bill into law, which would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat could be detected, meaning as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
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