The thing about TRAPS is that they’re hard to avoid when they’re everywhere. And vicious TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) designed to shut down clinics with impossible-to-comply-with rules and regulations are as ubiquitous across the South as a kudzu vine. If you manage to avoid one TRAP, you find yourself snared by another.
Yesterday we told you about the good news in Kentucky where the state’s LAST ABORTION CLINIC will remain open for now, thanks to a reprieve from a federal judge.
But when it comes to abortion rights, every time a door stays open, some asshole tries to shut two windows. The latest sound of a TRAP slamming shut comes from Louisiana, where we just lost one of ONLY FOUR abortion clinics in a state of over 4 and a half million people!
This most recent clinic to succumb to TRAP harassment was Bossier City Medical Suite in northwest Louisiana. According to state records, it was run by the same company that operated a suburban New Orleans clinic that was forced to shutter last year. Now the only remaining clinics in the entire state are in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport.
Louisiana lawmakers are definitely not friendly to abortion-seekers whatsoever. The state requires a 72-hour waiting period after mandatory in-person “counseling,” a ban on the most common second-trimester abortion procedure, and mandatory ultrasounds. Oh, and it’s illegal to sell vibrators.
Obviously, the deprived people of Louisiana could use a few laughs. But the assault on abortion rights is so widespread that Lady Parts Justice League’s upcoming Vagical Mystery Tour won’t be visiting the Bayou State, despite going to 15 other states where clinics are also under assault.
It seems like TRAP laws are everywhere–and LPJL wants to be there too. Help us expand our reach and donate!
