A Louisiana judge on Monday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its abortion ban that went into effect via a trigger law after pro-abortion groups filed a lawsuit earlier in the day.

The lawsuit was filed against Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Hope Medical Group Services, Kathaleen Pittman, and Medical Students for Choice.

Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Robin M. Giarrusso set a hearing date for July 8 for both sides to make their case. Abortion, which is the procedure of killing an unborn human, went back into effect in the state following the judge’s temporary order.

Louisiana has several trigger law bans that have been passed since 2006 and took effect following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which determined that abortion is not a constitutional right and sent the issue back to the state legislatures, therefor reversing the Supreme Court’s previous 1973 landmark decision in  Roe v. Wade.

Employees work at the abortion clinic, Hope Medical Group for Women, in Shreveport, Louisiana, April 19, 2022. (Photo by FRANCOIS PICARD/AFP via Getty Images)

The most recent trigger law was signed last week by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), which made Louisiana have some of the strictest abortion laws in the country after Friday’s Supreme Court decision before the judge’s temporary order, United Press International news agency reported. The law would increase penalties from the 2006 bill but would make certain “exceptions for abortions in cases of rape or incest or if the mother’s life is in danger.”

Landry expressed his disappointment in a statement in regards to the temporary order:

It is unfortunate that there are those who continue to utilize confusion, misinformation, and deceit as scare tactics in the face of the recent SCOTUS Dobbs decision. We would remind everyone that the laws that are now in place were enacted by the people through State Constitutional Amendments and the LA Legislature, which the citizens elect representatives. We are fully prepared to defend these laws in our state courts, just as we have in our federal courts.

At a victory rally following the Dobbs ruling, Landry vowed to be ready for those who seek to reverse the state’s trigger law.

“Suit up,” Landry said, per KFLY. “I would tell you that if you’re in Louisiana, you’re in for a rough fight.”

Pro-life activists celebrate the decision overturning the controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion decision outside the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, in Washington, DC. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Jenny Ma, a staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, was pleased with the decision and vowed to reinstate “abortion access” in the country.

“Louisiana’s court made the right call today to swiftly block this unjust ban from taking effect,” May said, per 6 KTAL. “While the fight is far from over, we will do everything in our power to preserve abortion access in Louisiana and across the country.”

Following Friday’s landmark decision, trigger laws took effect in seven states immediately, including Louisiana, while it will go into effect 30 days after Dobbs in Idaho and Tennessee, NBC News reported. The other states with immediate trigger laws include Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.

North Dakota has not activated their trigger laws, while the governor in Wyoming needs to sign the law into effect within 30 days of the ruling. Mississippi activated its trigger law on Monday, which will go into effect in ten days.

Overall, 26 of 50 states have or are set to implement varying abortion bans, per the Associated Press.

The case is June Medical Services, LLC v. Jeff Landry, no. 22-5633 in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, Louisiana.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.