New La. law mandates life-support for pregnant women

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Doctors in Louisiana will be required to use life support in most cases to keep a brain-dead pregnant woman alive until the birth of her child - if the woman doesn't have a living will.

Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the bill by New Orleans Rep. Austin Badon, a Democrat, into law Monday. It takes effect immediately.

The bill requires doctors to use life-sustaining measures if the woman has been pregnant for 20 weeks or more and if an obstetrician determines the woman's life "can reasonably be maintained" to permit the birth.

Badon's bill was pushed by abortion opponents who described it as protecting the sanctity of life. Opponents said it meddled in decisions that should be left to family members.

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House Bill 1274 can be found here.

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