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Shreveport clinic takes abortion battle to Louisiana Supreme Court

Hope Medical Center for Women in Shreveport was one of only three authorized abortion providers in Louisiana, before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS)

NEW ORLEANS (KTAL/KMSS) – A Shreveport abortion clinic challenging Louisiana’s abortion trigger laws is asking the state’s highest court to block the ban on abortion once again while the case winds its way through the courts.

According to a statement released Thursday afternoon, the Center for Reproductive Rights has filed an emergency writ to the Louisiana Supreme Court, asking the court to reinstate a preliminary injunction blocking the state’s trigger bans.

It is the latest in the legal battle following the reversal of Roe v. Wade that has resulted in the bans being allowed to take effect three times and blocked twice as each side files emergency requests for “relief” until the matter is settled at trial.

The bans once again took effect on Monday after a state appellate court ordered the district court to lift the preliminary injunction it had issued, leaving abortion once again unavailable in the state.

“We have asked the state Supreme Court to step in and block these bans once again,” said CRR Senior Staff Attorney Jenny Ma said in the statement.

“This legal ping pong is causing chaos for doctors trying to provide care in healthcare clinics and hospitals across Louisiana. It’s inhumane to have patients living in fear of whether or not they will be able to access reproductive healthcare. If the Court does not act, many people will suffer, and too many have nowhere else to go. These bans must be blocked while this case is litigated in court.”

CRR filed the lawsuit on behalf of June Medical Services, which operates the Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport.