After the Dobbs decision came down from the Supreme Court in June, Louisiana has implemented one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the nation. This ban has no exceptions even for rape or incest. The state recently even prevented a woman who was 10-weeks pregnant with a fetus with no skull (acrania) from aborting, forcing her to carry it to term, even though it had no chance of survival.
To at least attempt to protect the basic rights of its residents from this reactionary ban, the New Orleans City Council recently passed a resolution asking law enforcement not to enforce the ban in the city. Then, Louisiana State Attorney General Jeff Landry successfully pressured the Louisiana State Bond Commission to withhold $40 million in flood prevention funding from New Orleans as punishment for opposing the abortion ban. The funding is meant to pay for drainage pumps critical to protecting New Orleans from flooding and rising sea levels due to the climate crisis.
Right-wing Louisiana leaders say to New Orleans: If you want to support abortions, then we’ll let floods drown you. These state politicians say killing a fetus is a sin. But how many people, including pregnant women and their fetuses, will die in a flood that could have been prevented?
