Judge blocks Louisiana abortion bans, allows procedure to resume

July 13 (UPI) — A judge in Louisiana has awarded abortion providers a temporary block against the state’s abortion ban, allowing the procedure to resume for the time being.

The Center for Reproductive Rights said a judge on Tuesday awarded a temporary restraining order against the “trigger” ban until Monday, when there will be another hearing for a legal saga that began last month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 ruling in Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.

Louisiana is one of 13 Republican-led states to pass a trigger ban on abortion, which was intended to take effect immediately after Roe vs. Wade was struck down.

After the Supreme Court decision, abortions in Louisiana were immediately prohibited without exception — which drew a lawsuit from the Center for Reproductive Rights, which says the ban is unconstitutionally vague.

A state court sided with the center last month and blocked the state’s three trigger laws from going into effect. Louisiana then asked the state Supreme Court for a stay, which moved the case to a lower court.

On Friday, the lower court ordered the case to a new venue in Baton Rouge, which dissolved the original stay against the bans and allowing them to take effect until Tuesday’s decision.

“This is an incredible relief for people who need abortion care right now in Louisiana,” Jenny Ma, a senior staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. “Abortion care in the state can resume today, and further irreparable harm has been avoided.”

The center, she said, will ask the judge to block the bans more permanently at Monday’s hearing.

“Every hour and every day that a clinic can still provide abortion care fundamentally changes the lives of people for the better,” she added.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry lambasted the ruling and accused the judiciary of creating “a legal circus” that “discredits the institutions we rely upon for a stable society.”

“The rule of law must be followed and I will not rest until it is,” he said in a tweet. “Unfortunately, we will have to wait a little bit longer for that to happen.”