The scene outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., after the court released its decision in the Dobbs abortion case, June 24, 2022. / Katie Yoder/CNA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 28, 2022 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
Judges in Louisiana, Utah, and Texas have temporarily blocked the enforcement of those states’ laws banning abortion, after the Supreme Court returned the regulation of abortion to the states.
On June 24, the court voted 6-3 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to uphold a Mississippi law restricting most abortions after 15 weeks. At the same time, justices voted 5-4, to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Robin Giarrusso issued a temporary block June 27 on a 2006 Louisiana law banning abortion in the state in the case of Roe’s overturn, in response to a lawsuit filed by abortion providers.
“Abortion groups, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, argue the abortion restrictions violate providers’ due process rights and ‘lack constitutionally required safeguards to prevent arbitrary enforcement,’” Fox News reported about Louisiana.
In the coming weeks Giarrusso will rule whether the law may be enforced on a permanent basis. A hearing is set for July 8.
The Democratic Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, even said that he is “unabashedly pro-life and opposed to abortion,” yet he is aware that not everyone feels the same, according to the BBC.
In Utah, Third District Judge Andrew Stone issued a 14-day block June 27 on the state’s trigger law in response to a lawsuit brought by the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. NBC says that Stone claims women are “deprived of safe, local medical treatments to terminate pregnancies.”
Utah State Senator Daniel McCay, sponsor of the state’s trigger law, said, “I’m confident that Utah’s abortion ban will be upheld, and we can work to support life.”
A hearing in the matter will be held July 11.
In Texas, Judge Christine Weems in Harris County granted a temporary restraining order June 28 against the enforcement of a 1925 law banning abortion.
Marc Hearron, a lawyer for the abortion providers in the Texas lawsuit, said, according to Reuters, “Every hour that abortion is accessible in Texas is a victory.”
The state’s law banning abortion from about six weeks into pregnancy is still being enforced.
The Texas attorney general has said he will appeal Weems’ decision; a hearing is scheduled July 12.
Challenges to abortion bans in several other states are focused on state constitutions in which rights to privacy are included. These include Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Washington.
Reuters reported that abortion providers in Kentucky, Idaho, and Mississippi are suing to block enforcement of trigger laws in those states.