Our Views: With Roe fallen, it's time for an urgent new debate

We hope to see a way forward for our state (Louisiana) to unite around practical steps, even as debate over the Roe decision plays out. Not least, that requires a new commitment to age-appropriate sex education in schools, including real access to information on avoiding unwanted pregnancy. It also means looking at strengthening private social services and the public safety net for people who face enormous financial obstacles to raising children, or more children — an area in which some of the most anti-abortion states, including ours, are also the stingiest. And above all, it calls for the Legislature to revisit its refusal to create exceptions for victims of rape and incest. We have always been concerned by some lawmakers' rather cavalier attitude toward the difficult cases that arise — and will arise with a vengeance, once abortion is completely banned. This is no longer a theoretical issue; for years, legislators could vote for sweeping abortion bans knowing that federal courts would prevent their enactment. That backstop no longer exists. Further, rape and incest exceptions, although opposed by Louisiana Right-to-Life this year in the Legislature, would be consistent with the anti-abortion views of many Republicans. That a woman — or child — should be victimized twice, once by her attacker and then again by the state ordering her to take the pregnancy to term, is not going to be popular, even here. Yes, the court has ruled. But the debate over Louisiana’s approach to the difficult problems raised by a complete abortion ban has never been more urgent. ~NOLA.com - Our Views https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_d8e65dcc-f65e-11ec-9f5a-8ba6d2d38071.html