The Republican Party has become a party of hypocrites. And nowhere is this more evident than in Louisiana.

I grew up in a staunchly Republican household, and I always was taught that the GOP was for smaller government and less taxes. Above all, I was taught that Republicans were for personal responsibility and less government intrusion into our personal lives.

How, then, can Gov. Bobby Jindal and state lawmakers, especially Republicans, justify the abortion law signed by Jindal in June that would effectively shutter all five of the state’s abortion clinics? The law, which was set to take effect Sept. 1, requires doctors performing abortions in Louisiana to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic. That sounds reasonable, right? Proponents of the law say it is aimed at protecting the health of women. Ah, but here’s the catch: Only one doctor performing abortions currently has admitting privileges. And the others were given 81 days from the time the law was passed to obtain those privileges before the law took effect Monday. Since it takes longer than that to obtain those privileges, the law would have the effect of shuttering the state’s abortion clinics. And if that happened, the one remaining doctor who performs abortions, in fear for his safety, says he also would stop performing the procedure. The net effect of the law, then, would be to deny women in Louisiana access to abortion services. And, of course, that’s exactly what the bill’s backers intended.

I consider myself to be pro-life — at least mostly. I firmly believe that using abortion as a form of birth control is morally repugnant and wrong. This is especially true when one considers the wide variety of affordable, effective and long-lasting birth control methods available. Today, no woman should ever have to get pregnant unless she wants to. And in those rare cases where the birth control fails (yes, it does happen sometimes), there’s always adoption.

Unfortunately, moral issues rarely, if ever, have clear-cut solutions, and this one is no exception. Should a woman who’s been raped be forced to bear her rapist’s child if she becomes pregnant as a result? What happens if a young girl becomes pregnant as a result of incest? Or if carrying a child to term would result in the mother’s death? To be honest, I don’t have the answers to these troubling questions. In fact, I can sympathize with arguments on both sides of this issue and have been struggling with these questions for years.

What I do know is that no one person — and certainly no political party — has a right to tell women what to do with their own bodies when it comes to their reproductive health. It’s OK to disagree with someone else’s choices. But when you start trying to dictate those choices through legislation — to force your personal morality on another person — you have crossed a line that should never be crossed. And that’s the fatal flaw in this misguided law.

I believe the practice of abortion in this country should be rare. It should be used only for the three cases described above, if it’s used at all. But I also have accepted that, after 41 years, abortion is here to stay. That’s a truth that today’s Republican Party refuses to accept. The truth is, even if the GOP succeeded in outlawing abortion nationwide, it wouldn’t stop abortions from happening. It would only drive the practice back underground. It would only return us to the days of backroom abortions and more women would die. That is unacceptable.

On Aug. 31, U.S. District Judge John deGravelles temporarily blocked the implementation of the anti-abortion law. Let’s hope he stands his ground and the law never takes effect. This is bad legislation that would only harm women. It should have no place in our state or anywhere else.

Peter Watson lives in Shreveport.