EXCLUSIVE — In a post-Dobbs world, where states get to pass and enforce laws restricting abortion, the legal battle is far from straightforward. No one knows this better than Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who has been fighting in court for months to enforce his state’s “trigger law,” which bans most abortions statewide except in cases when the mother faces death or serious injury.
On Thursday, a state court placed a preliminary injunction on Louisiana’s law, ruling that the plaintiffs, which include one of the state’s three remaining abortion clinics, are likely to prevail in the argument that Louisiana’s trigger law is too “vague.” This is the third time the law has been blocked by the courts, though it has also gone into effect twice.
Landry, however, told the Washington Examiner that, as he sees it, Louisiana’s pro-life laws are still in effect. He has warned the state’s three abortion clinics, two of which are not protected by the judge’s most recent injunction, that he can and will prosecute them for violating the law — especially if the long-running court battle turns out in his favor. His office will appeal the judge’s ruling, he said, whether that means taking it to one of Louisiana’s appellate courts or, he hopes, the Louisiana Supreme Court.
“The state Supreme Court needs to take up this case,” he told me, adding that the justices, who are elected, need to have some “courage” and rule according to the pro-life convictions they claimed to have on the campaign trail.
He and Louisiana Solicitor General Liz Murrill both expressed confidence in the state’s pro-life laws and their ability to hold up in court. Despite what pro-abortion advocates and their allies in the legacy media claim, the trigger laws are not “vague” at all, Murrill told me. There are plenty of laws that do not tell you exactly what you have to do in every circumstance, Murrill explained. For example, the state does not specifically spell out to driver’s license holders how they must drive in order to avoid being charged with negligence. State laws do, however, tell you what you’re not allowed to do — you’re not allowed to drive drunk, for instance. But for the most part, the state trusts you to use judgment when you’re behind the wheel, she said.
In the same way, the state expects doctors and other medical professionals to exercise their judgment to determine when a mother’s life might be at risk or when she might suffer serious injury.
“They’re acting like this is some shocking development when it’s what they do every day,” Murrill said. “And if you’re going to a doctor who doesn’t know how to exercise that judgment, you need to find a new doctor and a new hospital.”
Both Landry and Murrill committed to fighting for the state’s pro-life laws because they believe their fight has implications beyond Louisiana.
“Louisiana is ground zero,” Landry said. “The other side believes that if they can put a chink in our armor, everything else will fail — because our laws have the strongest, bipartisan constitutional protections for the unborn.”
“But I have news for them,” he added. “We’re not going to fail.”
I hope every red state shares the same courage and conviction.
