A civil suit targeting Louisiana's new abortion laws led a federal judge in Baton Rouge to issue a temporary restraining order that blocks enforcement until an Aug. 24 hearing.
A civil suit targeting Louisiana's new abortion laws led a federal judge in Baton Rouge to issue a temporary restraining order that blocks enforcement until an Aug. 24 hearing. Part of a new law requires women getting abortions to have an ultrasound exam.
For at least two weeks, as a result of Chief U.S. Distict Judge Ralph E. Tyson's ruling, women won't have to view the ultrasound or receive a copy of it.
The state's new abortion laws were scheduled to take effect Sunday. Tyson says state officials must respond by Tuesday to a complaint by several abortion clinics that the new laws are unconstitutional.
A lawsuit filed last week by the Center for Reproductive Rights, six abortion clinics in Shreveport, Bossier City, Baton Rouge, Metairie and New Orleans and an unidentified abortion doctor claims the ultrasound requirement is "unconstitutionally vague" because it doesn't specify whether abortion providers must force women to view or accept copies of their ultrasound.
The new laws also block abortion doctors from participation in a state-run medical malpractice fund.