Louisiana Congressman Likens Women Seeking Abortions to Heroin Users

Reproductive rights are under attack in Louisiana.

State Rep. John LaBruzzo recently introduced a bill in the Louisiana House that would have criminalized abortions, even in cases of rape and incest. For the time being, the House has decided not to vote on the matter because federal law mandates that rape and incest victims have the right to obtain abortions. Since defying the Hyde Amendment could result in Louisiana losing $4.5 billion in Medicaid funding, the House moved Bill 645 to the Appropriations Committee for further study. While that constitutes a minor victory for pro-choice advocates, the words LaBruzzo used to defend the bill continue to shock.

When a female legislator questioned Labruzzo about how effective the bill would be in reducing the abortion rate during a recent committee hearing, LaBruzzo proceeded to compare women seeking abortions to drug addicts.

“We’ve illegalized murder and drugs for a long, long time, and yet those crimes continue to take place,” LaBruzzo said. “And it’s not our stance here to say that ‘just because people smoke pot and break the law or use heroin and break the law, then we should legalize it.’"

Forcing a woman to give up her bodily autonomy in carrying a fetus cannot be compared to denying people the right to use recreational drugs. Furthermore, having a child permanently changes the lives of parents, and women who choose abortion recognize that they’re not emotionally, economically, or otherwise equipped to be responsible for a baby. The choice to bring a child into the world can be a difficult decision incomparable to the choice to, say, smoke pot during a party -- and Rep. LaBruzzo's callous comments do a disservice to all women who've made the decision to terminate a pregnancy.

This isn’t the first time LaBruzzo has made controversial remarks regarding reproductive rights. Back in 2008, the congressman proposed paying poor women $1,000 to tie their Fallopian tubes, which would effectively sterilize them. At the same time, he considered giving tax incentives to college-educated, high-income people who had children. Why? He worried that undesirables were reproducing at a higher rate than their affluent counterparts. So, evidently, LaBruzzo supports only certain classes of women entering motherhood.

It’s time LaBruzzo was held accountable. Both pro-choice and anti-abortion advocates agree that the decision to bear a child can be agonizing for women, but Rep. LaBruzzo trivialized the matter with his callous remarks comparing women who seek abortions to drug users. Tell him to apologize for his thoughtless choice of words.

Photo Credit: openDemocracy