Washington D.C., Feb 7, 2019 / 21:03 pm
The Supreme Court has blocked from taking effect a Louisiana law requiring abortion doctors to hold admitting privileges at hospitals nearby to abortion clinics. The court issued a stay on Thursday evening.
In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court granted Feb. 7 a temporary stay blocking the law while it is adjudicated in lower courts. Chief Justice John Roberts was the deciding vote and voted to grant the injunction.
The 2014 law required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at the hospital within 30 miles of the abortion facility. It was modeled after a similar law in Texas, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2016. The law was challenged almost immediately upon passage and had been held from taking effect by legal challenges since it was passed.
Those opposed to the law say that it would prevent all but one abortionist in the state from performing abortions.