Louisiana State Judge Blocks Enforcement Of Total Abortion Ban

The fight for abortion rights in Louisiana has scored a victory, with a state judge blocking another attempt to enforce a near-total abortion ban.

On Tuesday, Judge Donald Johnson halted the enforcement of a statewide law that would prohibit nearly all abortions. Johnson blocked the ban as lawyers representing Hope Medical Group for Women, and other abortion-rights activists pursued a lawsuit challenging the trigger law that went into effect once the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Kathaleen Pittman, director of the Hope Medical Group, says that the clinic located in Shreveport will resume counseling and abortions. Their two other clinics are located in Baton Rouge and New Orleans and will continue operations. 

The complaint originated in New Orleans on June 27th, where a judge granted a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the ban just three days after the Supreme Court reversed national rights to abortion. Then on Friday, Judge Ethel Julien, also of New Orleans, sent the case to Baton Rouge to be heard at the state level. She concluded that she lacked the jurisdiction to continue the suspension of enforcement because the case was no longer in her court.

State Attorney General Jeff Landry is not pleased with the ruling but vows to continue fighting for enforcement of the abortion ban.

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

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

— Attorney General Liz Murrill (@AGLizMurrill) July 12, 2022

Judge Johnson has scheduled a hearing for next Monday. Joanna Wright, a lawyer for the clinic, is planning on asking for a preliminary injunction during that hearing.