Near total abortion ban gets reinstated, clinics begin to halt procedures

BATON ROUGE » Staff at Louisiana’s abortion clinics spent Monday calling patients to cancel procedures and direct them to resources in other states as Louisiana’s near total abortion ban is again in effect.

For weeks, access to abortion in Louisiana has been flickering — with the state’s three clinics relying on rulings and temporary restraining orders, that allowed them to continue operations. But procedures came to a screeching halt Friday afternoon after an appeals court ruled that Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry can enforce the ban while ongoing legal challenges play out in court.

“Once again, politics has superseded medical expertise and commonsense,” Amy Irvin, a spokeswoman for abortion clinics in New

Orleans and Baton Rouge, said Monday. “We remain hopeful that the Court will ultimately act with compassion and empathy on behalf of women seeking abortion in Louisiana.”

Staff at the clinics in southern Louisiana were working to notify 120 patients, scheduled for appointments this week, about the ban being enforced once again. Not only are patients being directed to clinics outside of the state, but Irvin said the clinics also are looking to relocate to a state “that respects and values women’s bodily autonomy.”

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to end constitutional protections for abortion, Louisiana’s ban has taken effect and been blocked multiple times. Since then, 249 abortions have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health, according to data released last week.