Will Shreveport Abortion Clinic Have to Close?

Now that the United States Supreme Court has handed down its ruling overturning the Roe V Wade decision on abortion, what will happen in Louisiana?

State lawmakers passed a so-called "trigger law" which would effectively ban all abortions in Louisiana if the high court overturned the Roe decision.

According to the State Department of Health's website, Louisiana only has 3 abortion clinics. One of them is the Hope Medical Group in Shreveport which is at the corner of Centenary and Kings Highway. There is also a clinic in Baton Rouge and another in New Orleans.

Will the Shreveport clinic now have to close? It can remain open, but abortions will no longer be legal. The clinic can provide other services for women.

Abortions will now be banned in about half of the 50 states. This decision essentially leaves abortion rights issues up to each individual state. Louisiana is one of 13 states with trigger laws that go into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

The Louisiana law says no one can administer, prescribe, procure for, or sell to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug or other substance with the intent causing an abortion. Individuals are also banned from knowingly performing a procedure on a pregnant woman with the intent to "terminate the pregnancy".

Doctors in Louisiana can perform an abortion to save the life of the pregnant mother. However, doctors must make "reasonable medical efforts" to save the life of the mother and unborn child.