The three remaining Louisiana abortion clinics said they would resume conducting the procedure after a judge on Monday temporarily blocked enforcement of the state’s “activation” abortion laws.
Louisiana is one of 13 states where the legislature had previously enacted laws designed to reduce abortions, in anticipation of Friday’s Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The three operating clinics in the state filed a petition for emergency assistance and received a temporary removal order.
The clinics were scheduled to continue operating under the current order, a spokeswoman for one of the law firms representing them in the case said Monday. Judge Robin M. Giarrusso of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court, who granted the order, set a hearing for the case for July 8th.
Abortion care providers in states with enabling laws, such as Louisiana, have said they are unsure whether they could face immediate consequences for providing care to those seeking an abortion. Some prosecutors have suggested they will not file charges under activating laws, including Jason Williams, the New Orleans district attorney, who said Friday that his office would not prosecute patients or doctors.
Providers of abortion in Louisiana argued that state trigger laws violate the state’s constitution and “are void by vagueness” because it is unclear whether they would take effect immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, and no they provide enough details about prohibited actions, such as what exceptions exist for medical workers trying to save the life of a pregnant woman.
Joanna Wright, one of the lead lawyers in the case, said abortion clinics have not been able to offer services since the Supreme Court ruling because they cannot risk being prosecuted, which may include mandatory imprisonment.
“This puts caregivers in this impossible position of having to reject women who may need abortion care to save their lives and avoid going to jail,” she said Monday in an interview.
Since 2006, there has been an active law in Louisiana that prohibits anyone from aborting or supplying drugs to a woman to terminate a pregnancy. The law would allow exceptions to prevent serious injury or death of a pregnant woman, but not for rape or incest. The governor signed another law this month in anticipation of the Supreme Court decision.
Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, said Monday in a statement that his organization was grateful that state Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry “vigorously upholds our pro-life laws.” The office of Mr. Landry did not respond to a request for comment Monday.