Louisiana Supreme Court says abortions must remain legal for now, despite ‘trigger law’

The Louisiana Supreme Court refused to overturn a lower court ruling preventing the state from enforcing its abortion ban on Thursday.

A judge had temporarily blocked enforcement of Louisiana’s “trigger law” banning nearly all abortions last week. The judge placed a temporary stay on enforcement following a lawsuit from abortion providers in the state, who argued it was overly vague.

Thursday’s state Supreme Court ruling allows that stay to remain in place at least through Friday when abortion providers will make their case in court.

Louisiana was the first state to have its abortion bans challenged after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in late June. It is not the only one, however, as Texas and Kentucky have faced similar issues.

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Louisiana’s Thursday ruling comes after the Kentucky Supreme Court handed down a similar decision in that state, allowing a temporary block on abortion ban enforcement to be upheld.

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In addition to Texas, Louisiana and Kentucky, ten states have passed trigger laws banning abortion.

In Texas, the state’s trigger law is not set to take effect until 30 days after the Supreme Court hands down its judgment overturning Roe. The court announced its opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson case in late June, but it is not expected to issue the formal judgment until late July.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to ban abortion in the interim through a pre-Roe law on the Texas books. A judge temporarily blocked enforcement of that law last week, following a lawsuit from the ACLU, which argued the law had been repealed and is unenforceable.