Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards (Jonathan Bachman/Reuters)

The Louisiana state house voted this evening to pass a heartbeat bill, prohibiting abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which usually occurs at about six weeks’ gestation. The bill passed the house by a bipartisan 79-23 vote, and it passed the state senate earlier this month by vote of 31 to five.


Louisiana’s Democratic governor John Bel Edwards had already announced his intention to sign the heartbeat bill into law should it pass the legislature, and he reiterated his support for it immediately after the bill made it through this evening:

My statement on the passage of SB 184 following final passage by the Louisiana Legislature. #lalege #lagov pic.twitter.com/SxadrmuUTC — John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) May 29, 2019

Bel Edwards will be the first Democratic governor to sign a heartbeat bill. Louisiana is the latest of a number of Republican states to enact this particular type of pro-life legislation so far this year. Most recently, Mississippi enacted a heartbeat bill that was subsequently challenged and is awaiting a decision in a federal appeals court. Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and Missouri also passed heartbeat bills earlier this year.