Judge extends restraining order blocking La. abortion ban

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Judge Donald Johnson at the 19th Judicial Court has extended a temporary restraining order through Tuesday, July 19, that blocks Louisiana’s ban on abortions.

Judge Johnson asked the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office for more information to be presented to him by tomorrow morning. At that time, he will decide whether to extend his order for a longer period of time.

State Attorney General Jeff Landy says he would prefer the State Supreme Court to take this on themselves. He says other State Supreme Courts have handled their state trigger laws much quicker.

“So, to have the Supreme Court sit there idly while we go through this legal circus is disappointing,” said Landry.

Until a ruling has been made, the temporary order will remain in place and the state’s three abortion clinics can continue to operate.

When asked what the biggest hurdle in all of this has been so far, Landry said, “I think the plaintiffs have the biggest hurdle. You know, the problem is the plaintiffs are normally not used to losing. Because they’ve been in federal court, the problem is they lost the mothership, which is Roe. And now that roe has been overturned, they’re just not used to being in this position.”

Attorneys arguing against the state told the judge they believed the Attorney General and his Solicitor General Liz Murrill, used their Twitter accounts to intimidate doctors who were afraid of breaking the law.

“What’s amazing is they seem to be able to interpret my tweets better than they can interpret the law,” Landry added.

A group of protesters waited outside the courthouse to try and drown out the Attorney General while taking questions from reporters.

“It’s not just Louisiana that we’re working towards, we want all of it to be overturned. We are fighting the courts so that the anti-abortion laws will be overturned or at least stalled because it’s an important right as an American for healthcare,” said protester Kelly Ann Bates.

“Yeah man, we’re out here protesting a pretty fundamental right. It’s been there for about 50 years, and we see the taking away of that right as an infringement on our rights,” said protester Carson Cruz.

Those in the crowd said they would hold as many protests as they could until they get what they want.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2022 WAFB. All rights reserved.