Court battles related to the Supreme Court‘s June 24 ruling allowing states to restrict abortion played out Monday, resulting in abortion clinics in states such as West Virginia and Louisiana gaining temporary legal relief.
Abortion procedures are now allowed again in West Virginia after a state judge placed a temporary hold on a 19th-century abortion ban that went back into effect last month.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Tera Salango granted a preliminary injunction to the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia against the ban, arguing that without action from a court, providers and patients, “especially those who are impregnated as a result of a rape or incest, are suffering irreparable harm.”
State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) slammed the decision, calling it “a dark day” for the state and adding that his office plans to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
LOUISIANA ABORTION BAN PROCEEDS AFTER JUDGE TELLS CHALLENGERS
Meanwhile, Louisiana District Judge Donald Johnson left a June 11 restraining order in place that blocks the state’s “trigger laws” from taking effect. Johnson gave both sides in the suit until Tuesday morning to submit “proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law” in the case without specifying when a final ruling would come.
Last week, a state judge in Baton Rouge released an order list blocking enforcement while attorneys for a north Louisiana clinic and other abortion advocates pursued their lawsuit.
The case was initially filed in New Orleans, but the venue was changed to Baton Rouge by a judge who said it should be heard in the state’s capital. The state’s law includes “trigger language” that made the law instantly effective when the Supreme Court ruled on June 24 that states could limit or restrict abortion.
Challengers of the state law claim it is vague about when the ban takes effect and regarding medical exemptions.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) said he thinks the case will end up before the state Supreme Court, claiming, “We believe that ultimately we will prevail and the rule of law will be upheld.”
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The cases were heard as new developments emerged from the high court on Monday that saw Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts pave the way for Indiana to begin enforcing a law that restricts minors’ access to abortion without parental consent.
Roberts granted a request from the state to fast-track normal procedures and apply the Supreme Court’s June opinion overturning Roe v. Wade to a federal appeals court, allowing the court to lift a stay on the law.
