What is Louisiana’s abortion law right now?

Louisiana prohibits abortion except in specified medical circumstances. State law excludes certain treatment from the definition of abortion, including treatment for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, care necessary to prevent death or a substantial risk of death, care necessary to prevent serious permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ, and certain medically futile pregnancies.

Does Louisiana have an exception for rape or incest?

No general rape or incest exception is in the current law. In every regular legislative session since Dobbs — 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 — legislation was introduced to add rape/incest or related sexual-offense exceptions, but none became law.

Can a pregnant person be prosecuted for having an abortion?

Louisiana’s abortion statute expressly exempts the pregnant patient from criminal responsibility under that abortion provision. Other laws can apply to other conduct, but the abortion statute itself does not criminalize the pregnant patient for having the abortion.

What are the penalties for someone who performs an unlawful abortion?

Under the abortion statute, a person who unlawfully performs an abortion can face one to ten years at hard labor and a fine of $10,000 to $100,000.

Are miscarriage and ectopic-pregnancy treatments still legal?

Yes. Louisiana law specifically excludes treatment for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy from the definition of prohibited abortion. The practical question raised by clinicians is not whether those categories exist in the statute, but how confidently and quickly providers can determine that a complicated pregnancy falls within an exception.

Are doctors actually delaying care because of the law?

A 2024 qualitative study of 30 Louisiana health-care workers and 13 reproductive-age residents found that nearly every clinician interviewed described fear of criminal prosecution as affecting care, and nearly every clinician recounted a situation in which care was delayed until complications worsened enough that the threat to the patient’s life was clearer. The study was not a representative statewide survey, so it cannot tell us how often this happens across Louisiana.

How many abortions are happening in Louisiana?

Very few abortions are now reported as performed inside Louisiana: fewer than five in 2024, compared with 7,444 in 2021. But that does not mean Louisiana residents stopped obtaining abortions. Researchers documented an estimated 9,980 abortions involving Louisiana residents in 2024, including about 7,510 medication abortions provided through telehealth and 2,470 abortions obtained through out-of-state travel.

What is the law on abortion pills?

Louisiana classifies mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV controlled substances. The controlled-substances law expressly says it is not a violation of the Schedule IV possession provision for a pregnant woman to possess either medication for her own consumption.

Does Louisiana have the highest maternal mortality rate in the country?

In the latest state comparison using 2023 CDC data, Louisiana had 41.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births — the highest rate among the states and more than twice the U.S. rate of 18.6. Louisiana’s own 2020–2022 review found that 84% of pregnancy-associated deaths were preventable.

Has Louisiana released maternal-death data since Dobbs?

Some data, yes — but not the state’s full case-review data for a complete post-ban year. Louisiana’s most recent Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review was published in 2026 and covers deaths from 2020 through 2022. The state has 2023 maternal mortality data from vital statistics, but PAMR has not yet published its detailed review of deaths from 2023 or later.

Why does that distinction matter?

Vital statistics can show how many maternal deaths occurred and calculate mortality rates. PAMR goes further: a multidisciplinary committee reviews individual deaths to assess pregnancy-relatedness, preventability, contributing factors, barriers to care, and opportunities for prevention. That means Louisiana does not yet have its most detailed state review of what happened during a full year under the abortion ban.

What did Louisiana lawmakers do on these issues in 2026?

HB 261, which proposed rape and certain sex-offense exceptions, remained pending after committee consideration. HCR 110, which would have required a broader review of maternal and pregnancy-associated mortality, barriers to care, and state programs, was voluntarily deferred in the House Health and Welfare Committee.