BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Right to Life's Pro-Life Day at the Capitol will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) at the State Capitol. The House Health and Welfare Committee with hear four abortion-related bills, with a focus on testimony about how the Adoption Option Act provides women with proactive information to choose the beauty of adoption over the trauma and violence of abortion.
Pro-Life Day at the Capitol activities include:
- A closed "Leadership Lunch" for leaders of pro-life pregnancy centers and agencies. Gov. John Bel Edwards will address the group.
- Consideration of pro-life bills in the House Health & Welfare Committee.
- A closed meeting with Attorney General Jeff Landry to update us on the litigation challenging the heinous practice of dismembering living unborn children from as late as 14 weeks forward.
- Booths in the Capitol Rotunda displaying efforts of pro-life pregnancy centers and agencies.
- A "birthday cake" distributed to legislators and others at the Capitol in the Rotunda.
- Recognition of pro-life advocates and pregnancy centers on the House and/or Senator floor.
The featured pro-life bill being considered in committee will be the Adoption Option Act (HB 449), authored by Rep. Rick Edmonds in consultation with Bioethics Defense Fund attorney Dorinda C. Bordlee. The HB 449 testimony will given by LSU law student David Scotton of the film
I Lived on Parker Avenue,
which documents his story of being placed for adoption after nearly being aborted.
I Lived on Parker Avenue
has been in film festivals and venues around the nation and was premiered at the Governor’s Mansion on March 6.
Louisiana Right to Life will also be in support of three House bills that strengthen the legal defense of cutting-edge legislation signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2016, which is now being vigorously defended by Attorney General Jeff Landry. These House instruments include bills that:
- Keep public funds out of abortion clinics (HB 338, Rep. Frank Hoffmann),
- Require the remains of aborted unborn children to be buried with dignity (HB 273, Rep. Hoffmann), and
- Provide information about resources for children diagnosed prenatally with genetic conditions such as Down Syndrome (HB 287, Rep. Edmonds).
The Attorney General’s office will be available to educate the committee on these bills.
Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life, said, "Pro-Life Day at the Capitol is an opportunity for pro-life leaders who support pregnant women and babies to gather at the Capitol to showcase their life-affirming efforts for legislators who must vote on these life and death issues. This year, we are looking forward to visiting with Gov. Edwards and celebrating the gift of adoption through the Adoption Option Act and the testimony of David Scotton. The Adoption Option Act will provide women considering the traumatic experience of abortion with a closer look at the option of adoption, and empower each of them with concrete first steps to consider making an adoption plan for the benefit of herself, her child, and a loving adoptive family."
###
