No more murder charge for women in Louisiana abortion bill

By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The sponsor of a bill that would have subjected Louisiana women to murder charges for having abortions has abruptly pulled the proposal from debate. That move came Thursday night after Louisiana House members voted 65-26 to totally revamp the bill, eliminating the  criminal penalties for women who have abortions. The bill would have ventured farther against abortion than lawmakers’ efforts in any other state. It would have made women who end their pregnancies subject to criminal homicide prosecutions. Gov. John Bel Edwards, an anti-abortion Democrat, had called the proposal absurd and said he would have vetoed it.