By Message Staff
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Family Forum is urging all pro-life advocates to send an e-mail to Gov. John Bel Edwards, thanking him for reaching a resolution on how to move forward on a lawsuit that challenges several abortion restrictions.
Edwards has agreed to allow state Attorney General Jeff Landry use noted attorney Kyle Duncan, a nationally-recognized conservative litigator from Washington, D.C. to defend against a challenge to the restrictions on abortions that take place in Louisiana, according to a story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
These include new requirements to force women to wait 72 hours and agree to an ultrasound before they have an abortion. The state also is partially banning the dilation and evacuation procedure, an abortion that occurs during the second trimester of pregnancy.
Edwards has signed those restrictions into law.
The Times-Picayune reported that Edwards was reluctant to approve the previous contract hiring Duncan because he did not agree to Edwards’ executive order, which would have provided protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace. Edwards wanted state contractors, including attorneys such as Duncan, to prohibit workplace discrimination against LGBT people in their respective offices.
However, a Baton Rouge judge threw out the executive order in December 2016. The court ruled that Edwards was trying to create a new law, after the state legislature had voted down such bills that provided workplace protections for LGBT employees.
“We urge you to join us by clicking here and thanking Governor John Bel Edwards for making a wise financial investment to defend life in Louisiana,” the Louisiana Family Forum said in an e-mail. “Thank you, Governor Edwards, for doing the right thing!”
