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==Is Edwards really "pro-life"?==

==Is Edwards really "pro-life"?==

In the spring of 2020, Edwards gained repeated national television exposure regarding how hard Louisiana has been hit in the [[coronavirus]] pandemic, particularly New Orleans during [[Mardi Gras]]. Edwards issued a "stay-at-home" order, including churches, but he exempted [[abortion]] clinics from the order though he has long-claimed a "pro-life" position. When he ran for governor in 2015, he cut an advertisement explaining that he and his wife, Donna, had not aborted a child diagnosed as special-needs while still in the womb. He also signed in his first term an anti-abortion bill since held in abeyance by federal courts. The legislation had large bipartisan majorities in both houses of the legislature. With national aspirations presumably in his future, Edwards would be required to abandon any pretense of being opposed to abortion. Louisiana voters are mostly anti-abortion, but 51 percent in 2019 voted to give Edwards a second term. Edwards' comments on how the pandemic has impacted Louisiana motorists led [[Texas]] Governor [[Greg Abbott]] to halt Louisiana motorists from entering Texas.<ref>''[[Moon Griffon|The Moon Griffon Show]],'' April 6, 2020.</ref> Griffon calls the governor "St. Bel" because of what Griffon sees as the governor's sanctimonious political stances.

In the spring of 2020, Edwards gained repeated national television exposure regarding how hard Louisiana has been hit in the [[coronavirus]] pandemic, particularly New Orleans during [[Mardi Gras]]. Edwards issued a "stay-at-home" order, including churches, but he exempted [[abortion]] clinics from the order though he has long-claimed a "pro-life" position. When he ran for governor in 2015, he cut an advertisement explaining that he and his wife, Donna, had not aborted a child diagnosed as special-needs while still in the womb. He also signed in his first term an anti-abortion bill since held in abeyance by federal courts. The legislation had large bipartisan majorities in both houses of the legislature. Edwards' comments on how the pandemic has impacted Louisiana motorists led [[Texas]] Governor [[Greg Abbott]] to halt Louisiana motorists from entering Texas.<ref>''[[Moon Griffon|The Moon Griffon Show]],'' April 6, 2020.</ref> Griffon calls the governor "St. Bel" because of what Griffon sees as the governor's sanctimonious political stances.

In June 2022, Edwards reaffirmed his opposition to abortion by signing into law a pro-life bill that will ban abortions immediately as soon as the [[United States Supreme Court]] overturns the 1973 ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' opinion. Edwards signed another bill which bans mail-order abortions to ensure that abortion pills that harm women and kill unborn babies are not sold in Louisiana. He also signed into law Senate Bill 342, the Reaffirmation of the Human Life Protection Act by Democrat Senator Katrina Jackson, and Senate Bill 388, the Mail-Order Abortion Prohibition Act by Republican state Senator Sharon Hewitt.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/louisiana-governor-signs-abortion-bills-imposing-criminal-penalties/story?id=85258010|title=Louisiana governor signs abortion bills imposing criminal penalties on providers. There are no exceptions for abortions performed in cases of rape or incest|publisher=[[ABC]] News|date=June 21, 2022|author=Mary Kekatos|accessdate=June 22, 2022}}</ref>

In June 2022, Edwards reaffirmed his opposition to abortion by signing into law a pro-life bill that will ban abortions immediately as soon as the [[United States Supreme Court]] overturns the 1973 ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' opinion. Edwards signed another bill which bans mail-order abortions to ensure that abortion pills that harm women and kill unborn babies are not sold in Louisiana. He also signed into law Senate Bill 342, the Reaffirmation of the Human Life Protection Act by Democrat Senator Katrina Jackson, and Senate Bill 388, the Mail-Order Abortion Prohibition Act by Republican state Senator Sharon Hewitt.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/louisiana-governor-signs-abortion-bills-imposing-criminal-penalties/story?id=85258010|title=Louisiana governor signs abortion bills imposing criminal penalties on providers. There are no exceptions for abortions performed in cases of rape or incest|publisher=[[ABC]] News|date=June 21, 2022|author=Mary Kekatos|accessdate=June 22, 2022}}</ref>