Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has signed into law what he calls legislation to "protect the sanctity of human life."

"These new laws will help us foster a greater culture of life in Louisiana and ensure that we continue to protect the weakest and most vulnerable among us," he said in a  news release.

A bill by Senator Sharon Weston Broome requires that women seeking abortions be given the option of hearing the fetal heartbeat and seeing ultrasound images prior to an abortion.

The governor's office says a bill by Senator Rick Ward creates a specific crime for performing an abortion in Louisiana, if the abortionist is not licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana. The legislation also creates the crime of "aggravated criminal abortion by dismemberment" when the unborn child is dismembered in the course of a criminal abortion.