Abortion rights groups filed an emergency request asking the Supreme Court to block restrictions from going into effect in Louisiana that are similar those the Supreme Court struck down more than two years ago.
The Louisiana law requires doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital in case anything goes wrong during an abortion. The Supreme Court in 2016 struck down similar laws in Texas in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, but the 5th Circuit upheld Louisiana’s law.
The ruling was handed down 5-3 because the Supreme Court was short-handed following the death of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Since then, President Trump has appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, tilting the court more conservative.
Plaintiffs, which include the Center for Reproductive Rights and abortion providers in the state, asked the Supreme Court on Friday to halt the Fifth Circuit’s ruling. The filing appeared in the Supreme Court docket on Monday and the law will go into effect Feb. 4 if the Supreme Court does not act.
“The Fifth Circuit brazenly ignored recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent squarely on point,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. “We are filing an emergency motion today with the Supreme Court to block this law before women in Louisiana are harmed. There is no way this law can stand under the Supreme Court ruling in Whole Woman’s Health, which struck down the same law in Texas.”
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito asked the state to respond to the stay application by Thursday. Alito then has the option of referring the request to the full court.
Supporters say that laws requiring admitting privileges to local hospitals are intended to support women’s health, but abortion rights groups say that the laws effectively limit access to abortion.
In September, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled in Louisiana’s favor, saying that the law was different from the one the Supreme Court Struck down. The 5th Circuit then rejected the request for a rehearing en banc, or by all the judges that sit on the court.
“The Fifth Circuit once again affirmed what we have repeatedly said: our law is both factually and legally different from the Texas law that the Supreme Court ruled against,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement.
CORRECTION: In a previous version of this story, the Washington Examiner erroneously said organizations are asking Justice Samuel Alito to make a decision by Thursday. Alito has asked the state to respond, after which Alito will have the option of referring the request to the court. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
