BATON ROUGE, La. -- A group of abortion clinics filed a federal lawsuit Friday challenging two new Louisiana abortion laws that require ultrasound exams for all women getting abortions and that bar medical malpractice coverage for doctors who perform elective abortions.
The lawsuit filed in Baton Rouge claims the laws, adopted in the regular legislative session that ended in June, interfere with a doctor's ability to provide a legal medical procedure and violate women's rights to have an abortion.
"The government cannot single out abortion providers and the women who seek their services simply because some politicians don't approve. It's completely unfair and more importantly, it violates the U.S. Constitution," said Stephanie Toti, an attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, a New York-based abortion rights organization that filed the lawsuit for the clinics.
Named as defendants are Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, the state health secretary and a list of people who serve on two medical boards that are responsible for enforcing the statutes and can discipline doctors who fail to comply with the ultrasound requirement.
A spokeswoman for Caldwell said the office hasn't yet formally received the lawsuit and could not comment. The state health department also refused to comment until it was served with the lawsuit.
Both laws won overwhelming support in the Louisiana Legislature.
The new ultrasound law not only requires the medical procedure, but also requires that women know they have the option to hear a description of what is seen in the ultrasound, to receive a photograph of the ultrasound image and to view the ultrasound.
There is no exception for victims of rape or incest.
The lawsuit argues the ultrasound requirement is "unconstitutionally vague" because it doesn't explain whether a person performing the ultrasound exam must try to force the woman to accept the envelope containing the photograph. The lawsuit also says it could violate a patient's right to confidentiality by "exposing their private information to the risk of delivery by third parties."
During legislative debate, supporters of the new law said they hoped the ultrasounds could dissuade women from getting an abortion by having to learn more about their pregnancies. Opponents said requiring a procedure that might not be available at a free clinic nearby will make it more difficult and costly for women to get
abortions.
The Center for Reproductive Rights has challenged similar ultrasound laws in other states.
The lawsuit argues that the ban on medical malpractice coverage for doctors who perform elective abortions improperly treats abortion providers differently from other health care providers and denies them equal legal protection. The lawsuit says the law is designed to deter doctors from performing abortions "thereby imposing a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking abortions."
Six abortion clinics in Shreveport, Bossier City, Baton Rouge, Metairie and New Orleans and a doctor who performs abortions are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The doctor is listed only by his initials to prevent his name from being publicly disclosed.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
