Judge temporarily blocks Louisiana abortion ban


A judge ruled Thursday that Louisiana abortion clinics can keep operating until a lawsuit challenging the state's near-total abortion ban is resolved, reports The Associated Press. State district Judge Donald Johnson in Baton Rouge gave attorneys on both sides 30 days to work out their trial plans.
Louisiana's "trigger" laws have twice taken effect only to be blocked since the Supreme Court's June ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision conferring the right to an abortion. Johnson said the state ban's "vagueness" prevents medical professionals from being sure whether, "or to what extent, they continue to perform or assist" in abortions. The state could appeal. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has said the case is likely to end up at the state Supreme Court.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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