News
Supreme Court blocks judge from drawing Louisiana’s congressional map
Just one day before a federal judge planned to enact a new congressional map with two majority-Black districts in Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay of her ruling. It means the map that will be used for this fall’s elections is the version Republican legislative leaders created that the judge ruled was racially […]
U.S. health secretary vows to protect abortion access, but says much depends on states
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra pledged Tuesday to work to preserve abortion access in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s “despicable” decision overturning Roe v. Wade — though the department’s specific actions will depend on how states seeking to limit abortion access proceed. Becerra said HHS would enforce federal laws to […]
Abortions up to 6 weeks of pregnancy can temporarily resume in Texas, judge rules
AUSTIN, Texas — Abortions up to about six weeks in pregnancy can resume at some clinics in Texas for now after a Harris County District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday that blocks an abortion ban that was in place before Roe v. Wade. “It is a relief that this Texas state court […]
Baton Rouge abortion clinic resumes appointments, drawing the ire of protestors
Granted a brief reprieve from Louisiana’s strict abortion ban, Delta Clinic in Baton Rouge, one of three abortion clinics in the state, resumed providing abortions Tuesday. Nearly a dozen clinic escorts, clad in rainbow striped vests, paced the parking lot outside the clinic. The small lot was flanked on either side by anti-abortion protestors. Despite […]
Louisiana’s new solar farm rules don’t apply to most existing solar farms
A new law enacted to prevent “orphan” solar energy farms in Louisiana contains a carve-out that exempts most of the current solar farm projects in the state. House Bill 655, sponsored by Rep. Jean-Paul Coussan, R-Lafyatette, establishes decommissioning regulations for utility-scale solar projects, requiring companies to pay permitting fees and purchase a bond payable to […]
Louisiana abortion clinics resume services after judge temporarily blocks ban
NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana’s three abortion clinics will resume providing services after a state judge temporarily lifted the state’s abortion ban Monday. Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport and the Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge will start providing abortions again Tuesday, and Women’s Health Care Center in New Orleans will see patients for abortions […]
U.S. Senate Democrats urge ‘bold action’ by Biden on abortion rights
Most of the Democrats in the U.S. Senate have signed on to a letter to President Joe Biden pressing him to “take immediate action” to protect abortion rights, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Friday ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The one-page letter, led by Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray of Washington […]
After Supreme Court overturned Roe, LGBTQ advocates worry about what’s next
SALEM, Oregon – The U.S. Supreme Court’s Friday ruling overturning Roe v. Wade doesn’t immediately affect access to reproductive health care in Oregon, but LGBTQ rights advocates fear other rights may now be in jeopardy. Abortion is protected as a right under the state Constitution, and codified in state law. The same goes for access to […]
Louisiana abortion ban temporarily lifted by New Orleans judge
A state district judge in New Orleans on Monday temporarily lifted Louisiana’s abortion ban until July 8, when the court will consider a legal challenge to the ban from a Shreveport abortion clinic, the clinic’s administrator and a medical student abortion rights organization based at Tulane University. “Hoping to start procedures again tomorrow. We have […]
AROUND THE U.S.: Leaders react, mobilize in states in wake of Supreme Court decision
Reaction was swift across the U.S. Friday as the U.S. Supreme Court erased nearly 50 years of abortion law. Here is look at reports from states as reported by independent newsrooms affiliated with Louisiana Illuminator through the States Newsroom network: Arizona Republicans cheer Supreme Court ruling on abortion, Democrats express outrage Reaction in Arizona to the U.S. […]
Pandemonium, then silence: Inside a Texas abortion clinic after the fall of Roe
SAN ANTONIO — On Friday morning, a nurse at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio ushered a patient into an exam room. She gave her a gown, told her the doctor would be in shortly and stepped back out of the room into a changed world. “I saw the other nurses standing in the […]
Hundreds rally in New Orleans in support of abortion rights: ‘Indescribable anger’
NEW ORLEANS — It was 96 degrees at sunset as an abortion rights rally approached its second hour. Sweat dripped from everyone in the crowd, the warm breeze not much of a reprieve. Rally signs, bearing messages such as “Make Abortion Great Again” and “We Won’t Go Back,” had long been repurposed into makeshift fans. […]