NEW ORLEANS – A Shreveport abortion facility and several abortion physicians voluntarily dismissed their legal challenge to Louisiana's abortion clinic licensing system this week. The case,
filed in 2016 by
June Medical Services (dba as Hope Medical Group for Women), sought to invalidate nearly every one of Louisiana's health and safety requirements relating to abortion, including those to ensure informed consent, provide for the reporting of accurate data on abortion complications, require compliance with the sanitary code, and require abortion clinic medical staff to meet basic qualifications for competency.
The lawsuit had made its way to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last year, but a panel of justices called into question both the plaintiffs' standing to bring the challenge the the "cumulative effects" theory they argued. The case had returned to the Middle District Court in Baton Rouge when it was dismissed.
Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life, said the following upon hearing the news: "
The abortion industry's voluntary dismissal of their radical lawsuit aimed at dismantling nearly every one of Louisiana's health and safety requirements related to abortion is further evidence that the Supreme Court's decision in
June Medical Services vs. Russo
crippled their long-term pro-abortion goal of dismantling every pro-life law in America. While our admitting privileges law should have been upheld, Louisiana regained ground for the pro-life cause at the Supreme Court through Justice Roberts’ gutting of
Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt
.
"Without Attorney General Jeff Landry and Solicitor General Liz Murrill's persistence in defending Louisiana's pro-life laws, this dismissal would not have come to pass. We applaud their dedication and expertise and look forward to more victories for women and unborn children in Louisiana."
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