Louisiana

Law restricting abortion put on pause the Supreme Court (pictured) has put a temporary hold on a law that would restrict abortions in Louisiana. It would require abortion providers to have “admitting privileges” – official status – at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic. It would have dramatically reduced the number of doctors allowed to perform abortions. The Court says it needs more time to review the details.

The case could be a litmus test of the court’s new make-up. Neither of President Trump’s two appointees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, has yet expressed a clear position on Roe v Wade, the judgment which legalised abortion, but there is speculation that both might take a strongly pro-life position.