Louisiana looks to expand liability for abortions, which could lead to more lawsuits
The Louisiana House of Representatives voted Wednesday to expand who can sue and be sued over abortions and to expand the definition of an illegal 'coerced abortion.' ()
The Louisiana House of Representatives voted Wednesday to expand who can sue and be sued over abortions and to expand the definition of an illegal 'coerced abortion.'
The legislation comes as anti-abortion advocates seek to crack down on doctors who ship of abortion-inducing medication to states where abortion is illegal. In nearly all cases, abortion has been illegal in Louisiana since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
House Bill 575 by Rep. Lauren Ventrella, R-Greenwell Springs, passed on a 59-29 vote. She has dubbed her proposal the 'Justice for Victims of Abortion Drug Dealers Act,' though it would apply to all forms of the procedure.
Ventrella's bill is supported by Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is currently prosecuting a case against a New York doctor accused of providing abortion-inducing medication to a minor in West Baton Rouge Parish. Gov. Kathy Hoschul has refused to extradite the doctor to Louisiana to face charges, citing New York's shield laws.
The doctor and the minor's mother were both indicted. Murrill has alleged the minor was coerced to take the medication, though her mother was not charged with this crime.
Current law allows the 'mother of the unborn child' to sue any person who performs an abortion, but Ventrella's bill adds her parents, the man who impregnated her and his parents as potential plaintiffs. They could sue anyone who causes or 'substantially facilitates' an abortion, regardless of whether the procedure was successful. The bill denies men the right to sue if the pregnancy was the result of rape, sexual assault or incest.
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The bill's opponents argued it could lead to lawsuits that violate the privacy of people alleged to have had an abortion.
'My fear is you're involving a lot of other people … Some women I've known, and I'm sure you've known, have had repetitive miscarriages through no fault of their own,' Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-New Orleans, said. 'The last thing I want is somebody bringing this saying, 'Well, there's no way there can be this many miscarriages,' and that's going to pull this woman and her medical records into a potential lawsuit.'
Ventrella said plaintiffs still have to meet the burden of proof.
'Frivolous lawsuits are taken care of on the front end,' she said.
Republican and Democratic legislators raised concerns about the procedural language of the proposal.
Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, asked Ventrella to delay a vote on her bill to work out what he sees as potential kinks. The legislation would create absolute liability, which does not require proof of negligence or fault, he said. Most Louisiana lawsuits require plaintiffs to prove liability rather than the law assuming it, Glorioso said in an interview.
Glorioso said he would have supported the bill if Ventrella addressed some of the procedural concerns he has. He was absent from the House chamber when lawmakers voted on the bill, as were several other Republican lawmakers who were present for other votes Wednesday.
Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, raised concerns that Ventrella's bill does not define 'cause,' which she said could lead to people being sued for loaning money for an abortion, driving someone to a clinic or other actions that support a person who has an abortion.
Ellie Schilling, an attorney who represented abortion providers before the state ban took effect, said that while the title of the bill includes the word 'unlawful,' it's the only time it appears in the bill. That would allow lawsuits to be brought against providers of legal abortions, she said.
While they are rare, Louisiana law does allow abortions when a doctor believes they are necessary to 'prevent the death or substantial risk of death' of a pregnant person.
In its original state, Ventrella's bill would have also allowed drug manufacturers to be sued, but she added amendments to the bill to exclude them. Abortion-inducing drugs, most commonly mifepristone and misoprostol, have a number of other uses, including for miscarriage management, treating postpartum hemorrhage and inducing labor.
Last year, lawmakers reclassified both drugs as controlled dangerous substances despite concerns from medical professionals it could make them more difficult to access in time-sensitive medical crises.
Ventrella's bill would allow a judge to award a minimum of $100,000 in damages if the defendant is not licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana, is not licensed to dispense medication in Louisiana or is a foreign company. Plaintiffs can also receive damages for emotional distress, court costs, attorneys fees and additional damages when the pregnant person is a minor.
House Bill 425 by Rep. Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette, passed on an 80-10 vote.
His measure would expand the definition of coerced abortion, which is currently defined in state law as the 'use or threatened use of force, control, or intimidation' against a pregnant woman to compel her to undergo an abortion against her will, regardless of whether the procedure has been attempted or completed.
Carlson's legislation originally sought to expand the definition of coerced abortion to include the pregnant person's actions, but it was substantially trimmed back in committee to add battery, assault, simple kidnapping, false imprisonment and extortion to the existing definition.
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