Arizona’s attorney general says the state outright bans abortion under a 1901 law, and Louisiana’s attorney general has warned doctors not to perform abortions, though a judge prevented the state from banning the procedure. For his part, a judge in Kentucky cleared the way for such proceedings to resume.
This comes as states grapple with old, unused laws following the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the constitutional right to termination of pregnancy in the ruling known as Roe v. Wades from 1973.
The high court’s decision less than a week ago has sparked legal battles in several states as lawmakers seek to ban or restrict abortion.
In the Kentucky case, a judge ruled in favor of two abortion clinics in the state that asked him to issue a temporary restraining order to block a state law that took effect after the Supreme Court ruling. Lawyers for the Louisville clinic argued that the Kentucky constitution allows abortion, adding that the EMW Women’s Surgical Center clinic has turned away about 200 potential patients since Friday’s ruling.
Louisiana and Kentucky are among the states that had “trigger” laws designed to ban abortion, with few exceptions, in anticipation of a repeal of Roe v. Wade.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has not commented on the ruling. Cameron, who is a Republican, defends the state’s abortion laws.
The Kentucky case mirrors court battles across the country over whether pregnancies can be legally terminated.
In Arizona, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said a law he signed in March banning abortions after 15 weeks took precedence over an outright ban in place since at least 1901, 11 years before Arizona became a state. But Attorney General Mark Brnovich, also a Republican, said he was revising the 1901 law in the wake of Roe v. Wade and that the providers immediately stopped performing the procedure for fear of prosecution.
Meanwhile, this week Louisiana’s attorney general issued a warning to doctors against performing abortions, despite a judge’s order preventing the state from banning the procedure.
In a letter to the Louisiana State Medical Society, Attorney General Jeff Landry said the state judge’s order preventing the bans “is limited in scope” and that abortion is a crime following the high court’s decision.
“Any medical provider who performs or has performed an elective abortion after the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs is jeopardizing their liberty and medical license,” Landry wrote.
The three abortion clinics in the state have said they will continue to operate while the judge’s order is in effect.
In Ohio, abortion lawyers on Wednesday asked the state Supreme Court to use its powers to overturn the ban on abortions once heart activity is detectable.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced Wednesday an appeal to West Virginia’s abortion ban. The ACLU says the state ban dates back to the 1800s.
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Bob Christie in Phoenix, Julie Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Dylan Lovan in Louisville contributed to this report.