Later today, a Baton Rouge judge will hear arguments in the challenge to the state's abortion trigger laws. A New Orleans judge punted the case to Baton Rouge a week-and-a-half ago, ruling that East Baton Rouge Parish was the proper venue.
According to legal analyst Doug Sunseri, the judge will determine if the law is specific enough to enforce.
"This is highly technical language as to whether abortion is defined," Sunseri said. "Jeff Landry is going to say the construction of the law itself has enough specificity and is not ambiguous. What the abortion proponents are saying is that, first of all, as far as the trigger is concerned is that there's too much ambiguity as to does it apply and how does it apply."
Sunseri says the case has little to do with the right to an abortion. Rather, he says the case is about the language in the state's three trigger laws.
"This is more like two law professors having tea and arguing about statutory construction. It really doesn't have anything to do with Roe versus Wade," Sunseri said.
Regardless of what the judge rules, Sunseri and other analysts expect the case to reach the State Supreme Court. Sunseri says that could happen within the next two months.
"I think it'll be on the expressway to the Supreme Court," Sunseri said. "They don't want this issue to hang out in a state of limbo for too long."
If the court ultimately rules in favor of the plaintiffs, the state legislature will have to return to the drawing board.
"The legislature (would have) to draft a more specific law that has more definition as to what's being triggered," Sunseri said.
To do that, lawmakers would have to call a special session or wait until next April's regular session.
