Posted on 02/10/2016 7:31:37 PM PST by Morgana
A Louisiana judge sided with abortion advocates Wednesday and ruled against a state law that would ensure abortion clinics are meeting basic health and safety requirements.
Baton Rouge District Judge John deGravelles blocked the law from taking effect and declared it “unconstitutional†in a Tuesday ruling, ABC News reports.
The pro-life law would protect women by ensuring that abortionists have admitting privileges at a local hospital, that informed consent protections apply to all abortions, and that facilities that perform more than five abortions maintain proper licensing.
Attorneys for the state immediately asked Judge John deGravelles to stay Wednesday’s order while they appeal it and his Jan. 26 finding that the law is unconstitutional.
The law requires doctors who perform abortions to be able to admit patients to a hospital within 30 miles. Supporters say that would protect women’s health. Opponents say it would make it impossible to get abortions.
DeGravelles said in January that of six doctors performing abortions in Louisiana, only two meet the requirement, and one of them has said he would quit if the law is enforced.
The remaining doctor performed nearly 30 percent of all abortions in the state, deGravelles said. He said forcing the other five doctors out of their clinics would therefore leave about 70 percent of the women who want abortions unable to get one.
The pro-life law would protect women by ensuring that abortionists have admitting privileges at a local hospital, that informed consent protections apply to all abortions, and that facilities that perform more than five abortions maintain proper licensing.
State officials think they can defend the law at the appeals court level:
The judge has not made a final ruling in the case. January’s findings were about whether he could bar enforcement of the law until he does so. Wednesday’s preliminary injunction replaces a temporary order.
Lawyers for the state said in Wednesday’s request that they think the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will probably overturn deGravelles’ findings for two reasons.
Keep up with the latest pro-life news and information on Twitter.
They said the judge’s analysis of the number of women likely to be affected used a procedure very different from the one used by the same court when it upheld a similar law in Texas. The 5th Circuit’s procedure would have indicated that the law is constitutional because more than 90 percent of all women of reproductive age are within 150 miles of an abortion clinic, the attorneys’ motion said.
They also took issue with deGravelles’ ruling that a third doctor’s privileges do not meet the law’s requirements even though Kathy Kleibert, who was then health secretary, testified that she would accept them.
Louisiana Right to Life Executive Director Ben Clapper previously told LifeNews: “Not surprisingly, the abortion industry has filed suit to stop the common-sense standards put in place by HB 388. We believe it is the right of the state of Louisiana to close loopholes that allow abortion facilities to operate at a lower standard as compared to other surgical facilities.â€
Clapper said that although the facilities and doctors are claiming they have not had enough time to get admitting privileges, the amount of time they had was similar to the amount of time involved in the implementation of a similar law in Texas.
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear abortion advocates’ challenge of the Texas law in March.
The law is responsible for closing abortion clinics that could not guarantee they could protect the health of Texas women. It has been credited with saving the lives of more than 10,000 unborn children.
So much for safe abortions by qualified, competent doctors.
From the commie rag Mother Jones
A Federal Judge Gave an Epic Defense of Planned Parenthood That Everyone Should Read
By Nina Liss-Schultz Mon Oct. 19, 2015
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/10/planned-parenthood-abortion-louisiana-jindal-medicaid
On Thursday, US District Judge John W. deGravelles issued a preliminary injunction that will keep Planned Parenthood funded until the lawsuit is decided.
In a blistering opinion, a federal judge blocked Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s attempt to defund Planned Parenthood in the state, saying the move would cause “irreparable harm” to the 5,200 women who depend on the organization for health care.
In July, Jindal ordered an investigation into the group following the release of a series of highly edited videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue donation. He also ordered the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to cancel Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast’s (PPGC) Medicaid contract, which it did in August, effectively defunding the organization in the state. Neither of the two Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana offer abortions. Planned Parenthood took the DHH to court later that month.
US District Judge John W. deGravelles issued a restraining order against the DHH’s move late Sunday. The order will remain in place for at least two weeks while the lawsuit proceeds. However, in his opinion, deGravelles was outspoken in his support of Planned Parenthood. He wrote that the DHH attack on the organization was baseless:
The uncontradicted evidence in the record at this time is that PPGC does not perform abortions in Louisiana, is not involved in the sale of fetal tissue and none of the conduct in question occurred at the PPGC’s two Louisiana facilities. Based on the record before it, it appears likely that Plaintiff will be able to prove that the attempted termination against it are motived and driven, at least in large part, by reasons unrelated to its competence and unique to it.
He also disputed a common Republican argument (which former Mother Jones reporter Molly Redden debunked last month) that closing Planned Parenthood won’t burden its patients, who would have access to other reproductive health providers in the area. According to deGravelles, defunding Planned Parenthood would leave thousands of women without options:
[The Court] turns to the uncontested and unquestioned facts—PPGC serves 5,200 poor and needy women, and PPGC has repeatedly been deemed a ‘competent’ provider by DHH—and honors the public interest in affording these women access to their provider of choice...For decades, PPGC has served numerous at-risk individuals and helped DHH combat a host of diseases, and, in the process, become the regular provider of over 5,000 women.
Several other states, including Arkansas, Utah, and Alabama, have cut funding for Planned Parenthood by canceling Medicaid contracts. In August, the Obama administration notified Alabama and Louisiana that cutting Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding may violate federal law.
For its part, Jindal’s office said on Monday that the governor would “continue to fight to ensure Planned Parenthood no longer receives taxpayer funding.”
By this logic closing down drug traffickers means addicts will not be able to get needed drugs. It means anyone performing needed services is not constrained by licensing or inspection by government. The ruling is patently ridiculous.
APPOINTED BY OBAMA
On March 13, 2014, President Obama nominated deGravelles to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, to the seat vacated by Judge James Joseph Brady, a Democrat who assumed senior status on December 31, 2013.[5] He received a hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on May 20, 2014.[6] On June 19, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[7] On July 16, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion to invoke cloture on deGravelles nomination. The Senate voted for cloture on July 22, 2014 in a 57-39 vote.[8] Later that same day the Senate voted 100-0 to confirm deGravelles. [9] He received his judicial commission on July 23, 2014.[10]
On August 31, 2014, Judge deGravelles partially blocked enforcement of Louisiana’s new abortion law which took effect on September 1. The measure requires those performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within thirty miles of the abortion facility. Four physicians challenged the law to seek more time to comply with the requirement for hospital privileges. DeGravelles allowed the four to continue to provide abortions without prosecution until he can rule on a motion for a preliminary injunction no later than October 1. DeGravelles said that the doctors’ risk of being fined and losing their licenses to perform abortions outweighs any injury to the state itself.[11]
In October 2015, Judge deGravelles issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the administration of then Governor Bobby Jindal from defunding Planned Parenthood within the state. Jindal spokesman Mike Reed said the state would appeal deGravelles’ ruling: “Planned Parenthood is engaging in classic misdirection regarding the millions they have [re]paid in Medicaid fraud and their own admissions in the baby parts trafficking videos. ... Instead of going through the same administrative review as any other Medicaid provider, they are running to the federal courts and asking for special treatment.”[12]
In January 2016, deGravelles declared unconstitutional a Louisiana state law which would have required abortion clinics to meet health and safety standards. He was to have held a conference on January 29 to consider whether the injunction to block enforcement of the law would be made permanent. The law would require that abortionists have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Facilities which perform more than five abortions would have to maintain proper licensing. Under the law, all abortions would require informed consent. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the state will appeal deGravelles’ decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W._deGravelles
While you may have a point there, I did not read this so I’ll accept your take on it for now.
I don’t actually understand what’s so hard to fathom about abortion.
If a man assaults a woman and kills here fetus, he’s in deep trouble.
If she wants to kill the same fetus, it’s perfectly fine.
Go one way or the other folks.
If it’s not a life, then the guy shouldn’t be in trouble for anything more than an assault.
I personally think he is, but it’s not consistent if she can kill the fetus on a whim.
Of course Baton Rouge District Judge John deGravelles would rule that way, he is a Democrat. Shows just how much they care about women. They have no right to expect an abortion clinic to be a safe place. After all, murder is being committed there so why should the women expect it to be safe.
If the ruling stands, the legislature should convene to write a replacement law which stipulates fines starting at $100,000 per incident where complications send a patient to a hospital, or if the complications arise from procedures performed in unlicensed facilities. The fines would not pertain to facilities which maintained hospital admitting privileges or those which complied with state licensing.
He’s not a Louisiana judge, he’s a federal judge. While his parents were Republicans, he’s a loyal democrat. Don’t know what his religion is, but his brother is an Episcopalian.
Easier than that. Louisiana has low limits on Medical malpractice cases. Just exempt abortions from the MedMal law, and encourage malpractice lawsuits in cases of abortion.
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