Louisiana’s heavily restrictive abortion laws fell back into place this week, following the Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the power to the states to determine how they will approach women’s reproductive health.
Temporary restraining orders and different court rulings had allowed abortion providers to keep operating since the Supreme Court’s ruling until a court decided Friday to allow state Attorney Gen. Jeff Landry (R) to enforce abortion laws as challenges are being deliberated in the courts.
Doctors rushed to inform patients with procedures scheduled that they could no longer do it in the state, offering resources for how to obtain care in other states.
The current law allows for up to a 15-year prison sentence for anyone who helps perform abortions. It does not allow for abortions even in cases of rape or incest.
The court’s decision could be reversed, however, since plaintiffs in a different ongoing case filed an appeal with the Louisiana Supreme Court on Thursday.
“We hope the Louisiana Supreme Court will rule that district courts have the power to block unconstitutional criminal statutes, including the trigger bans in question,” attorney Joanna Wright, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “Louisiana women must have access to critical and sometimes lifesaving healthcare, and we will continue challenging the Attorney General’s attempts to undermine that access through unconstitutionally vague statutes. This fight is far from over — we are not going anywhere.”
