BATON ROUGE (AP) — Lawmakers have agreed to ban selling or transporting fetal tissue from an abortion.
With a 33-0 vote Monday, the Senate gave the bill by Republican Sen. Ryan Gatti, of Bossier City, final passage and sent it to the governor's desk.
The measure stems from outcry over undercover videos, released by an anti-abortion group, which purported to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal body parts in other states.
The organization denied the allegation, saying the videos were misleading.
Under Gatti's bill, violators face a prison sentence of at least 10 years and up to 50 years. The ban doesn't apply to donations of fetal tissue for stem cell research or umbilical cord blood.
The new law takes effect Aug. 1.
