HB 575: ABORTION: Provides relative to liability for the unlawful termination of a pregnancy - Louisiana

Senate Floor Bureau Note, #2635, Miller, G., Adopted → HB575 Act · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was reorganized from a Senate floor amendment note into a formal enrolled act, establishing a new cause of action for damages against individuals who perform or facilitate abortions. It defines 'abortion' as terminating a pregnancy after fertilization and allows the unborn child's mother to sue for statutory damages of at least $100,000, special damages, and exemplary damages. The law includes specific exemptions for the pregnant woman, licensed healthcare providers, and pharmacists acting within regulations, while also outlining privacy protections for the mother.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a proposed amendment to a fully enacted statute creating a new legal liability framework specifically for abortion-related actions.

SCOPE

Established a new legal cause of action allowing the mother of an unborn child to sue for damages against anyone who knowingly performs or facilitates an abortion.

DEFINITION

Defined 'abortion' as the deliberate termination of an intrauterine pregnancy after fertilization, regardless of the intent to produce a live birth.

REQUIREMENT

Set a minimum statutory damage award of $100,000 for the provision of abortion-inducing drugs when used to induce an abortion.

ELIGIBILITY

Limited the right to sue to the mother of the unborn child, while explicitly exempting the pregnant woman, licensed healthcare providers, and regulated pharmacists from liability.

TIMELINE

Set a statute of limitations of three years from the date of discovery of damage, with a maximum peremptive period of ten years from the date of the abortion.

ENFORCEMENT

Authorized courts to grant privacy protections, such as allowing the plaintiff to use initials or a pseudonym and sealing case proceedings.

HB575 Original → Senate Floor Bureau Note, #2635, Miller, G., Adopted · 2 edits

MINOR

The Senate amended the bill to remove a conflicting clause regarding the statute of limitations and to clarify who can file a lawsuit. The original text contained a confusing sentence about the time limit for filing claims that was deleted. Additionally, the eligibility for the father to sue was broadened to include both biological and legal fathers, ensuring that adoptive parents can also seek damages if the mother undergoes an abortion.

Scope change

The scope of eligible plaintiffs was expanded to include legal fathers, and the procedural timeline for filing lawsuits was clarified by removing contradictory text.

TIMELINE

Deleted a confusing and contradictory sentence regarding the statute of limitations (the time limit for filing a lawsuit) that appeared in the original version.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the eligibility criteria for the father to sue from only 'natural or biological' fathers to include 'biological or legal' fathers, allowing adoptive parents to bring a claim.

HB575 Enrolled → HB575 Original · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill was significantly revised to expand liability for abortion-related actions and strengthen protections for victims. The original enrolled version had a broad list of sponsors and focused on basic liability, while the original draft now includes only two sponsors and adds specific language to hold a wider range of actors accountable.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from targeting only those who 'perform' an abortion to include anyone who causes, aids, abets, manufactures, or sells abortion-inducing drugs. It also broadened the definition of who can sue to include biological fathers (with exceptions for rape/incest), grandparents, and legal custodians of minors.

SCOPE

Expanded liability to include those who cause, aid, abet, manufacture, administer, prescribe, dispense, distribute, or sell abortion-inducing drugs, rather than just those who perform the procedure.

Clarified that liability applies regardless of whether the abortion resulted in the death of the unborn child.

ELIGIBILITY

Added the natural or biological father (excluding cases of rape, sexual assault, or incest), maternal and paternal grandparents, and legal custodians of the mother as eligible plaintiffs.

EXEMPTIONS

Added an exemption for healthcare providers acting within their lawful scope of practice for bona fide medical reasons, such as filling prescriptions for legitimate medical conditions.

DEFINITION

Refined the definition of 'abortion' to explicitly include termination with an intention other than producing a live birth or removing a dead unborn child.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the statute of limitations from surviving five years from discovery with a ten-year peremptive period to surviving three years from discovery with a ten-year peremptive period from the date of the abortion.

ENFORCEMENT

Added provisions allowing courts to permit plaintiffs to use initials or pseudonyms to protect the privacy of the mother.

HB575 Reengrossed → HB575 Enrolled · 3 edits · Jun 20, 2025

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from 'Reengrossed' to 'Enrolled' and finalized with signatures from the Governor and legislative leaders. The substantive text of the abortion liability law remains unchanged, retaining the same definitions, damages, and exemptions as the previous version.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; no new laws were added or existing laws modified.

TECHNICAL

The bill status changed from 'Reengrossed' to 'Enrolled', indicating it has passed all legislative stages and is ready for signing into law.

The list of sponsoring representatives was reordered alphabetically, and Senator Edmonds was added to the sponsor list.

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the page headers and footers to reflect the final enrolled version.

HB575 Engrossed → HB575 Reengrossed · 3 edits · Jun 8, 2025

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to add seven new co-sponsors and reorganize the text of the 'Justice for Victims of Abortion Drug Dealers Act'. The substantive legal provisions regarding who can sue, the types of damages available, and the exemptions for healthcare providers remain unchanged, though the line numbering and paragraph structure were adjusted during the amendment process.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains the same; the changes are primarily administrative updates to the list of sponsors and internal text formatting.

TECHNICAL

Added seven new representatives (Ameede, Butler, Carrier, Devillier, Deshotel, DeWitt, Dickerson, Edmonston, Egan, Firment, Horton, Mack, McCormick, Owen, Schamerhorn, Thompson, and Wilder) to the list of bill sponsors.

Reorganized the text structure of the act, shifting from a continuous list of eligible plaintiffs to a structured subsection format (Subsection A, B, C) and renumbering paragraphs.

Adjusted line numbers and paragraph headers throughout the document to reflect the new text structure, while keeping the actual legal definitions and rules identical to the previous version.

ABORTION: Provides relative to liability for the unlawful termination of a pregnancy

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