Judges in Louisiana and Utah temporarily blocked state laws Monday that would have banned nearly all abortions there after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The two states are among more than a dozen which have had “trigger laws” on the books that were to automatically go into effect, putting in place sometimes severe abortion restrictions, if the landmark 1973 ruling was ever reversed.
With the high court’s decision Friday gutting Roe v. Wade, the states have been moving forward with partial or nearly all-out bans on abortions.
But New Orleans Judge Robin Giarrusso on Monday at least temporarily sided with Louisiana abortion providers who filed a lawsuit arguing that such a rapid state ban violated their due-process protections.
The plaintiffs, working with the Center for Productive Rights, also asserted that the state’s trigger law did not include a specific date when abortion would be made illegal after Roe’s reversal.
A judge in Utah also temporarily put a hold on the state’s near-total abortion ban there. The plaintiff is Planned Parenthood.
Giarrusso’s ruling prompted Louisiana’s three remaining abortion clinics to vow to resume operating, the New York Times said.
Kathaleen Pittman, administrator of one of the clinics, Hope Medical Group for Women, told WRKF that her Shreveport group will again offer abortions beginning Tuesday.
Staffers are reaching out to 400 women who had their appointments canceled after the ruling came down, she said.
“It’s a temporary reprieve,” she said of Monday’s stay. “But it’s a reprieve.”
Giarrusso of Orleans Parish said she will hold an additional hearing next month before deciding if she will extend the current stay.
The Louisiana trigger law only allows abortions when the mother’s life is in jeopardy and does not specify exceptions for rape or incest.
The Utah judge issued a stay of the new state law for at least 14 days, ksl.com said.
Under the new law, abortions can only be performed in Utah if the mother’s life is at risk, if the woman became pregnant through rape or incest or if the fetus has a severe defect, the outlet said.
The reversal of Roe v. Wade takes away the federal right to an abortion and now allows states to establish their own related laws.
A total of 13 states — also including Texas, Missouri and Tennessee — have trigger laws that call for the banning of abortion up to 30 days after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Penalties for an illegal abortion can include fines and imprisonment.