For Immediate Release
Aug. 5, 2021
Contact: Benjamin Clapper
bclapper@prolifelouisiana.org
BATON ROUGE – Today, Judge Timothy Kelley of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge dismissed the case Lift Louisiana vs. The State of Louisiana.
Lift Louisiana, a pro-abortion advocacy group, challenged the constitutionality of Act 492, passed recently by the Louisiana Legislature. This law limits the jurisdiction to authorize a minor’s abortion without parental consent to courts within the minor’s parish of residence (with some exceptions). Previously, the judicial bypass could be obtained in the parish where the abortion facility operates or in the minor’s parish of residence.
“Once again, the abortion industry ran to the shelter of a court to cling to its mission of abortion-on-demand, this time seeking to defend abortion for minors without any barriers or parental involvement. Judge Kelley rightly dismissed this ridiculous lawsuit and told the abortion businesses they can return to court once they actually have a real plaintiff,” said Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life.
“We congratulate Attorney General Jeff Landry and his office on this expeditious victory for the parents and children of Louisiana. His office expertly defeated this challenge, saving Louisiana taxpayers a long and costly legal defense of a common-sense law.”
The plaintiff in this case, Lift Louisiana, admitted in pleadings that for at least one New Orleans attorney helping minors secure judicial authorization for abortion, “75% of the judicial bypass cases …involved minors domiciled outside of Orleans Parish.”
Angie Thomas, J.D., Associate Director of Louisiana Right to Life, said the following after reviewing the pleading: “The abortion advocates admit that the vast majority of judicial bypasses are done outside of the minor’s parish of residence, where judges would likely know more about local resources and can have a better determination of maturity. This alone shows the dire need for Act 492 to help bring an end to this flawed judicial bypass process.
“We also applaud Judge Kelley for dismissing the case for lack of standing. For years, the abortion industry has challenged the laws that were meant to protect women from that same industry without representing any actual patients. Judge Kelley’s decision hopefully puts a stop to this inappropriate legal tool the abortion industry consistently uses to strike at the will of the people of Louisiana.”
For more information, click here to read this Louisiana Right to Life article on the lawsuit.
###
