Louisiana lawmakers consider new crime for forced use of abortion medication

Louisiana lawmakers might create a new law aimed at punishing someone who tries to force abortion medication on a pregnant person without consent.

Sen. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, filed Senate Bill 276 on behalf of his sister, Catherine Herring, whose husband placed an abortion drug in her drink without her knowledge. Mason Herring, a Houston attorney, was sentenced to 180 days in prison and 10 years of probation in February for that crime, according to the Associated Press.

Catherine Herring, who testified alongside Pressly at a Louisiana legislative hearing Tuesday, doesn’t believe her husband’s punishment in Texas was harsh enough. She gave birth to her daughter Josephine in spite of being drugged, but the baby was born 10 weeks early and requires therapy multiple times per week, according to the Associated Press.

Herring’s husband, who she is in the process of divorcing, tried to give her medication seven times to induce an abortion, she told Louisiana lawmakers. After being hospitalized once, she started collecting samples of drinks he offered her and turned them over to law enforcement, she said. 

Pressly’s legislation would ensure that slipping a pregnant person abortion medication in Louisiana would bring more severe consequences.

His bill would require anyone found guilty to serve five to 10 years in prison and face a fine of $10,000 to $75,000. Those penalties would jump to 10 to 20 years in prison and fines of $50,000 to $100,000 if the pregnancy is three months along or more. 

Louisiana’s leading anti-abortion organization, Louisiana Right to Life, said the bill should not impact a doctor’s ability to treat a pregnant person experiencing a miscarriage with abortion medication. 

Several of the state’s most prominent anti-abortion groups and Attorney General Liz Murrill support Pressly’s legislation. No one showed up to Wednesday’s committee meeting to oppose the measure, which is unusual for a bill dealing with abortion. 

The Senate Judiciary C Committee moved the proposal forward Tuesday. It will now go to the full Senate for a vote.