Unless a federal judge takes additional action, two antiabortion laws will take effect Sunday in Louisiana, according to groups on both sides of a lawsuit challenging the statutes, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. One of the laws (SB 528) will require women seeking abortions to receive ultrasound exams, while the other (HB 1453) will prevent doctors who perform elective abortions from obtaining medical malpractice insurance (Anderson, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 8/11).
On Aug. 8, six abortion clinics filed a federal suit arguing that the ultrasound law is "unconstitutionally vague" because it does not clearly state whether the person performing the ultrasound must try to compel a woman to accept an envelope containing the ultrasound picture. In addition, the law could violate a patient's confidentiality by exposing private patient information to a third party, the suit states. The suit contends that the law banning medical malpractice coverage for doctors who perform abortions improperly treats abortion providers differently from other health professionals and denies them equal legal protection (Women's Health Policy Report, 8/9).
The first round of legal proceedings for the case is scheduled for Nov. 4, the Times-Picayune reports. Dorinda Bordlee -- senior counsel for the Bioethics Defense Fund and a co-author of one of the bills -- said she expects the laws to take effect on Sunday.
Stephanie Toti, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said it is possible that the abortion clinics could file additional litigation to block the laws or some of their provisions. For example, litigation could prevent the state from enforcing a provision requiring women to receive a copy of an ultrasound before an abortion (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 8/11).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
© 2010 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.