Court battles continue across South in wake of Roe decision
JACKSON, MISS. >> Attorneys argued over abortion laws Tuesday in three Southern states in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave states the power to limit or outlaw the termination of pregnancies.
In Mississippi, a judge rejected a request by the state's only abortion clinic to temporarily block a state law that would ban most abortions. Without other developments in the clinic's lawsuit, the law will take effect Thursday.
Legislators passed the trigger law before the U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned the 1973 ruling that allowed abortions nationwide. The clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, sought a temporary restraining order that would have allowed it to remain open, while the lawsuit played out in court.
The closely watched lawsuit is part of a flurry of activity nationwide since the Supreme Court ruled. Conservative states have moved to halt or limit abortions while others have sought to ensure abortion rights, all as some women try to obtain the medical procedure against the changing legal landscape.
Florida's new 15-week abortion ban was blocked but then quickly reinstated Tuesday after an appeal from the state attorney general in a lawsuit challenging the restriction. Judge John C. Cooper issued the order temporarily halting the law after reproductive health providers argued that the state constitution guarantees a right to the procedure. The state quickly appealed his order, automatically putting the law back into effect.
The Florida law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions if the procedure is necessary to save the pregnant woman's life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow for exemptions for pregnancies caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.
Violators could face up to five years in prison. Physicians and other medical professionals could lose their licenses and face administrative fines of $10,000 for each violation. The law, which went into effect Friday, was passed by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this spring.
In Louisiana, the state attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on most abortions. Louisiana's anti-abortion statutes include so-called triggers that were designed to instantly take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court were to reverse abortion rights. But a state judge in New Orleans last week blocked enforcement of the law pending a court hearing on a lawsuit filed by a north Louisiana abortion clinic and others.
The Louisiana lawsuit says the law is unclear on when the ban takes effect and on medical exceptions to the ban. Tuesday's filing by the attorney general's office says the order blocking enforcement should be dissolved.
Mississippi was one of several states with a “trigger” law contingent on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The law was passed in 2007.