Abortion battles in state courts after Supreme Court ruling

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Abortion bans are temporarily blocked in Louisiana and Utah, while a federal court in South Carolina says a law sharply restricting the procedure can take effect there immediately. The decisions emerged as the battle over whether women may end pregnancies shifted from the nation’s highest court to courthouses around the country. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday (June 24, 2022) to end constitutional protection for abortion opened the gates for a wave of litigation. One side sought quickly to put statewide bans into effect, and the other tried to stop or at least delay such measures. Much of Monday’s court activity focused on “trigger laws,” adopted in 13 states that were designed to take effect swiftly after the ruling.