High Court abortion ruling sets off new court fights

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The fall of Roe v. Wade shifted the battleground over abortion to courthouses around the country Monday, as one side sought quickly to put statewide bans into effect and the other tried to stop or at least delay such measures.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Friday to end constitutional protection for abortion opened the gates for a wave of litigation from all sides.

Many of the court cases will focus on "trigger laws," adopted in 13

states in anticipation of the ruling and designed to take effect swiftly. Lawsuits could also target old antiabortion laws that were left on the

books and went unenforced under Roe. Newer abortion restrictions that were put on hold pending the

Supreme Court ruling have also started to come back into play.

"We'll be back in court tomorrow and the next day and the next day," Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which argued the case that resulted in the high court ruling, said Friday.

In Louisiana on Monday, a judge in New Orleans, a liberal city in a conservative state, temporarily

blocked enforcement of the state's trigger-law ban on abortion, after

abortion rights activists argued that it is unclear. The ruling is in effect pending a July 8 hearing.

At least one of the state's three abortion clinics said it would resume performing procedures on Tuesday.

"We're going to do what we can," said Kathaleen Pittman, administrator of Hope Medical Group for Women, in Shreveport. "It could all come to a screeching halt."

Also Monday, abortion rights advocates asked a Florida judge to block a new law there that bans the procedure after 15 weeks with some

exceptions and is set to take effect this week. And a hearing was scheduled for Monday afternoon in Utah, where Planned Parenthood challenged a trigger law there that contains narrow exceptions.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and an abortionrights group also filed an emergency motion there on Saturday seeking to block a 2021 law they worry can be used to halt all abortions.

In striking down Roe, the Supreme Court left it to the states to decide whether to allow abortion.

"The expectation is that this will result in years of legislative and judicial challenges," said Jonathan Turley, a professor at the George Washington University law school.

As of Saturday, abortion services had stopped in at least 11 states —

either because of state laws or confusion over them.

In some cases, the lawsuits may only buy time. Even if courts block

some restrictions from taking hold, lawmakers in many conservative

states could move quickly to address any flaws cited.