Louisiana abortion fight: Judge blocks trigger law banning procedure. What happens next?
A Louisiana judge on Thursday blocked enforcement of the state's trigger law outlawing most abortions, setting the stage for the state Supreme Court to make the ultimate decision on the future of the ban.
State District Judge Don Johnson, who had put the ban on temporary hold while he considered the merits of the case, sided with those suing the state who argued that the trigger ban was too vague for ordinary citizens and doctors to understand.
Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry said he will appeal Johnson's injunction to the Louisiana Supreme Court, but until then the state's three abortion clinics can operate.
“We look forward to ending this legal circus by getting the case to the state’s Supreme Court as soon as possible – especially, as Justice (William) Crain recently noted, terminating alleged life during the period of a restraining order is irreparable harm,” Landry said in a statement to USA Today Network.
Landry has been critical of the Supreme Court for not taking up the case sooner.
Johnson's ruling follows a public hearing Monday in his Baton Rouge courtroom.
“Today’s ruling is critical in ensuring that women in Louisiana continue to have access to comprehensive – and sometimes life-saving – healthcare services," said Joanna Wright, an attorney representing Hope Medical Group in Shreveport. "With this decision, Chief Judge Johnson determined that we are likely to succeed on the merits of our lawsuit.
"We are prepared to prove our case and hope to obtain a final ruling that the trigger bans are unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. In the interim, providers are protected against vindictive prosecution from the state.”
On Monday Wright presented affidavits from physicians saying doctors are afraid to provide sometimes life-sustaining care for pregnant women with medically futile pregnancies and miscarriages, two of the few exceptions to Louisiana's abortion ban.
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But Attorney John Balhoff, who works for the attorney general, dismissed arguments that the law is unclear, saying the trigger law "goes to extraordinary lengths to define the terms."
Balhoff said the law gives doctors the bandwidth to make decisions using "reasonable medical judgment."
Louisiana's 2006 trigger law, updated by Democratic Monroe Sen. Katrina Jackson's bill this summer, was designed to take effect immediately following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing legal abortions.
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It outlaws virtually all abortions with an exception for saving the life of the mother, but no exceptions for rape or incest.
Louisiana's updated trigger law carries criminal penalties of up to 15 years for doctors who perform abortions but exempts pregnant women from prosecution.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana abortion fight: Judge blocks trigger law banning procedure.
