The
US Supreme Court on Thursday Feb 07,2019 blocked a Louisiana abortion access law from
going into effect for now, dealing a victory to opponents of the law who
argued it could decimate "safe and legal" abortions in the state.
The order was 5-4 with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court's four liberals voting for the stay. New conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a dissent.
Louisiana's
Unsafe Abortion Protection Act has been blocked since its enactment in
2014, and like a similar Texas law the court previously struck down,
requires a doctor to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30
miles of the facility where the abortion is performed.
Louisiana
argues that the law is necessary to provide a higher level of physician
competence, but critics say there is no medical justification for the
law and it amounts to a veiled attempt to unlawfully restrict abortion.
The US Supreme Court said in 2016 that the
restrictions in the Texas law constituted an undue burden on a woman's
right to seek an abortion.
The
Center for Reproductive Rights -- representing patients, clinics and
doctors in the state -- had asked the justices to put the law on hold
before it was slated to go into effect on Friday Feb 08,2019
Thursday
night's ruling would not prevent the court from eventually agreeing to
take up the case and uphold the law in the future.
Supporters of
abortion rights fear that the court's conservative majority --
solidified by the addition of Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and
Kavanaugh -- will move to chip away at abortion rights if not eventually
all but overturn the landmark Supreme Court opinions of Roe v. Wade and
Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Abortion across the US States
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