A Louisiana judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Republican-led state from enforcing laws banning abortion that were set to take effect after the US Supreme Court's blockbuster decision to end the constitutional right to the procedure nationwide.
Louisiana is one of 13 states with “trigger laws” designed to ban or severely restrict abortions once the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that recognised a right to the procedure was overturned, as it was on Friday.
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Abortion rights activists gather outside the US Supreme Court in Washington on June 24, 2022. AP -
Pro-life demonstrators celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington. AP -
A pro-choice supporter cries outside the Supreme Court. AFP -
Pro-life campaigners celebrate outside the Supreme Court. AFP -
A demonstrator wears 'second class citizen' tape over her mouth outside the Supreme Court. Bloomberg -
An activist outside the Supreme Court. AP -
A woman reacts after hearing the abortion decision. AP -
Pro-life activists hug outside the Supreme Court. AFP -
A pro-life supporter reacts outside the Supreme Court. AFP -
Pro-life supporters hug outside the court. AFP -
The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years. AP -
People celebrate outside the Supreme Court after the conservative majority overturned Roe v Wade. AP -
Pro-life supporters celebrate outside the court. AFP -
People celebrate outside the Supreme Court. AP -
Pro-choice demonstrators gather outside the Supreme Court. AFP
Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Robin Giarrusso issued a temporary restraining order blocking Louisiana from carrying out its ban shortly after Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, one of Louisiana's three abortion clinics, sued.
The clinic had argued Louisiana's three trigger law bans violated its due process rights under the state's constitution and “lack constitutionally required safeguards to prevent arbitrary enforcement”.
The judge scheduled a July 8 hearing to decide whether to further enjoin enforcement of the abortion ban.
Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
He hailed the Supreme Court's decision on Friday, and at an event said that those who challenge the state's bans were “in for a rough fight”.
The case is one of several challenging Republican-backed abortion laws under state constitutions after the US Supreme Court's ruling.
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A person holds a sign reading "Women Will Die" as activists gather at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC. AFP -
An anti-abortion protester speaks outside the US Supreme Court after the leak of a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito preparing for the court to overturn the Roe v Wade abortion rights decision later this year. Reuters -
A protester holds a sign for the pro-choice Planned Parenthood organisation. AFP -
The Roe v Wade decision recognised that the right to personal privacy under the US Constitution protects a woman's ability to terminate her pregnancy. Getty Images -
A demonstrator outside the court. AFP -
A woman cries during the protests. AFP -
Demonstrators place candles outside the court. AFP -
Protesters chant slogans. Reuters -
Police installed metal barricades to prevent protesters from entering the court building. AFP -
Demonstrators use candlelight during the evening protest. AFP -
US Senator Elizabeth Warren joined abortion rights activists outside the US Supreme Court on Tuesday. Photo: Public Domain
A Utah branch of Planned Parenthood on Saturday sued over that state's trigger ban, and abortion rights advocates plan to challenge an Ohio ban on abortions after six weeks that took effect on Friday.
In Louisiana, Hope Medical argued the state's laws make it impossible to tell when they are in effect, if one or all of them collectively are in force, and what exact conduct is prohibited, such as if exceptions exist to save a pregnant woman's life.
That vagueness has resulted in state and local officials issuing conflicting statements about whether the trigger bans are in effect, the lawsuit in Orleans Civil District Court contended.
