Bill that would have placed the question of abortion access before Louisiana voters fails

By SARA CLINE
Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A bill that ultimately would have let voters decide whether or not abortions should be legal in Louisiana, a state with a near-total ban, has failed after a Republican-controlled committee rejected it. The legislation proposed an amendment to Louisiana’s constitution that would enshrine reproductive rights for women, including allowing contraceptives such as birth control, access to abortions and infertility treatments. If the measure advanced, it would have been placed before Louisianans to vote on the amendment. However a GOP-controlled committee voted 10-2 to involuntarily defer the bill, effectively killing the measure.