As Louisiana joins the ranks of states passing heartbeat abortion bans, the case is highlighting a growing effort by Democrat leaders to reject all pro-lifers from their party.

Louisiana’s Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards signed the bill into law Thursday, despite opposition from national Democratic party leaders.

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In a statement about the bill’s passage he said, “In 2015, I ran for governor as a pro-life candidate after serving as a pro-life legislator for eight years. As governor, I have been true to my word and my beliefs on this issue.”

Edwards’ pro-life beliefs have played a profound role in his personal life. He and his wife, Donna, refused to have an abortion after they found out their daughter would have a spinal birth defect. They told their story in a campaign ad in 2015, showing their daughter Samantha as a grown-up.

Democrats blasted the pro-life governor on social media for supporting Louisiana’s heartbeat bill.

Former Obama administration official Julian Castro, now the mayor of San Antonio, said on Twitter, “I’ll say it again: In this political climate, I will only support Democrats for office who will defend a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.”

In the early nineties, more than 100 pro-life Democrats held office on Capitol Hill. Now there is only a handful.

Kristen Day, executive director of the group Democrats for Life, weighed in on her party’s opposition to pro-life Democrats saying the party has left them behind.

“It’s all about abortion, they just don’t want anyone who opposes abortion in the party. They’re kicking people out of the party instead of trying to bring people in,” she said, according to the Washington Post.

Day says Democrats are waging a “war against Pro-Life Democrats” and, as a result, pro-life Democrat voters won’t turn out to support the Democrat Party in 2020.

(Excerpted from CBN News, article by Charlene Aaron.)