Louisiana state lawmaker born of rape after her mother was attacked aged 15 ... trends now
A Louisiana lawmaker who was born of rape is campaigning for rape and incest victims to be immune from the state's strict abortion ban.
New Orleans Rep. Delisha Boyd, 54, has shared the deeply personal story driving her tabled exemption bill as the legislative committee prepares to debate it on Tuesday.
The Democrat lawmaker was born in 1969, four years before abortion became legal under the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v Wade ruling.
Her mother was just 15 years old at the time, after becoming the victim of statutory rape by a man nearly twice her age.
Boyd said her mother turned to drugs and died before the age of 30 as a result of the trauma of raising a child before she was ready.
New Orleans Rep. Delisha Boyd, 54, has shared the deeply personal story driving her tabled abortion exemption bill as the legislative committee prepares to debate it on Tuesday
The Democrat lawmaker was born in 1969, four years before abortion became legal under the Supreme Court 's landmark Roe v Wade ruling. Her mother (pictured) was just 15 years old at the time, after becoming the victim of statutory rape by a man nearly twice her age
A Louisiana lawmaker who was born of rape is campaigning for rape and incest victims to be immune from the state's strict abortion ban
'It was a life for a life,' Boyd said. 'You´re then telling me to consider her life less important than my life.'
Boyd has been campaigning hard to ensure the next generation of Louisiana women aren't subject to the same fate five decades later - but she faces an uphill battle against a GOP-dominated legislative committee in the Bible Belt region.
Abortion was banned in the Pelican State in 2022, meaning rape and incest survivors must carry the baby to term or travel to another state where the procedure is legal.
It came despite Louisiana having one of the country's highest maternal mortality rates.
Supporters of Louisiana's ban note that if Boyd's mother had been given the choice to abort, the lawmaker might not exist.
'Aren't you glad to be here?' GOP state Rep. Tony Bacala asked her, according to a report in The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
Boyd said she doesn't regret having been born, but believes her mother's life was ruined as a result.
She added that her story is likely an 'exception to the rule' - other children of teen mothers can end up in foster care or turn to drugs or crime, she said.
Boyd said that just because she has found success in life, it does not give her 'the right to tell you what to do in your family' and rape victims should have a choice.
Her supporters have noted via X that even the last GOP president Donald Trump backs abortion law exemptions for women who have been
