BATON ROUGE, La. - A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of Louisiana's restrictive new abortion law.
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Judge John W. deGravelles of the Middle District of Louisiana said the law can still take effect on Monday, but officials cannot penalize doctors or clinics for breaking it while a challenge is heard.
The law requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles of their clinics. A lawsuit by the Center for Reproductive Rights claims that doctors have not had enough time to obtain privileges, and that the law likely would force Louisiana's five clinics to close.
Judge deGravelles said the doctors' risk of fines and losing licenses outweighed any injury to the state from keeping the status quo. He noted that the state health secretary said she would not enforce the law against doctors awaiting decisions from hospitals to which they have applied.
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