Legislation inspired by a Shreveport native Catherine Herring, whose husband poisoned her with an abortion pill in Texas, but only spent 180 in jail advances from Louisiana’s House Criminal Justice Committee. Herring is the sister of bill sponsor Senator Thomas Pressly, who said the bill creates the crime of coerced criminal abortion by fraud.
“A person knowingly and intentionally in an attempted use of an abortion-inducing drug on a pregnant woman, without her knowledge or consent to cause an abortion,” said Pressly.
Pressly said the Louisiana bill of criminalized coerced abortion in the first trimester would be punishable by imprisonment of no less than five, no more than 10 years.
“And for the second and third trimesters that harm to the woman increases significantly and therefore we’d increase the crime up to ten years minimum, 20 years maximum,” said Pressly.
Herring was able to receive abortion reversing medications in time to save her daughter, but Josephine does have health complications as a result.
“I’d like to share that one of the biggest comforts that’s come from this experience has been the rallying cry of people around the world, on behalf of Josephine and myself. People representing all walks of life all political parties,” said Herring.
The bill has passed in the Senate and is headed to the full House.
