A state legislative committee in Louisiana has blocked the advancement of a bill that was designed to allow young people who are pregnant as the result of rape or incest to obtain abortions.

Louisiana has a near-total ban on abortion, only allowing the procedure in instances where a pregnant person’s life is at risk — exceptions that are rarely implemented in practice due to providers’ fears of facing prosecution from the state. House Bill 164 sought to implement limited changes to the state’s law by allowing victims of rape or incest under the age of 17 to get abortions.

But the House Committee on Criminal Justice voted 7-4 against the measure, with all opposing votes coming from Republican lawmakers, some of whom tried to justify their votes by claiming they were protecting the “innocence” of fetuses.

“That baby [in the womb] is innocent … We have to hang on to that,” GOP state Rep. Dodie Horton said.

Other Republicans justified their votes by claiming that teenagers might lie about being sexually assaulted in order to get an abortion.

Democrats condemned their Republican colleagues for voting to further victimize children who have been sexually assaulted.

“This bill now is focused on children,” the legislation’s author Rep. […]