+9 'Fetal heartbeat' abortion bill sent to Louisiana governor, who will sign it; court must uphold it Louisiana lawmakers have passed a bill that would ban abortions at about six weeks of pregnancy if upheld by the courts, sending it to the gov…

State lawmakers are slated to vote this week, possibly Wednesday, on a high-profile abortion bill that would ban the procedure at about six weeks, a move that would put Louisiana in line with a group of conservative states in passing some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws.

The so-called “fetal heartbeat” measure, brought by state Sen. John Milkovich, D-Shreveport, is slated on the House's Wednesday agenda. If lawmakers approve his Senate Bill 184 without making changes, it will go to the desk of Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who has said he will sign it.

The measure is written to only go into effect if the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a similar Mississippi law. The measure is part of a broader effort by anti-abortion groups and lawmakers to try to get the newly-reshaped U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark abortion rights decision, Roe v. Wade.

+5 Louisiana almost certain to pass anti-abortion measures this week, but it 'all depends on the courts' Long a bastion of anti-abortion sentiments, Louisiana is part of a wave of red states passing some of the most restrictive abortion laws in years.

The Louisiana Legislature has repeatedly passed abortion restrictions, finding support from the GOP majority along with many Democrats and the governor. The “fetal heartbeat” bill is also expected to pass. It was scheduled for a vote in the House Tuesday but was delayed by at least a day. Denham Springs Republican Rep. Valarie Hodges, who is handling the bill for Milkovich in the House, said in a text Monday the speaker wanted it to get a vote Wednesday with other abortion measures.

But the House is also set to debate whether to add an exception to the bill for victims of rape and incest – a provision that abortion rights advocates have called for in recent weeks as the bill has made it through the State Capitol.

State Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, is proposing an amendment to SB184 to exclude rape and incest victims from the abortion ban. Abortion rights advocates have called the lack of such an exception “cruel and deplorable.”

Lawmakers on a Senate Committee earlier this month briefly added an amendment to do so, but backtracked and stripped the change a few minutes later after Benjamin Clapper, head of the anti-abortion group Louisiana Right to Life, voiced objection.

James said it is a “foregone conclusion” the bill will pass. But he also said abortion decisions for rape and incest victims should not be made in the State Capitol.

“I have a daughter,” James said. “If something happens to her I think that’s a discussion between me, her and her mom, not the Legislature. If we’re going to continue going down this road I think we have to protect women who are victims of rape and incest. It’s personal to me.”

Louisiana lawmakers are also set to ask voters whether to add a line to the state constitution saying it does not approve of abortion or provide funding for it. Several other bills would more strictly regulate abortion providers.

None of the bills are expected to significantly curtail access to abortion immediately, though clinics say the restrictions are piling up and making it more difficult to operate. The U.S. Supreme Court would need to change how it has ruled on abortion rights issues to allow states to restrict access to the procedure as they have tried to.

Alabama recently signed a law that would ban most all abortions in the state. Ohio and Georgia have also passed “fetal heartbeat” legislation. Mississippi’s law is already tied up in the courts, and several other states will almost certainly face legal challenges that will block the laws from going into effect in the near term.

Gov. Edwards said recently on his call-in radio show he expects to sign the bill. Edwards has signed several abortion restrictions since becoming governor, including a 15-week ban last year that is also tied to a Mississippi law that is tied up in the courts.