Lift Louisiana and If/When/How filed a motion for an injunction arguing that Louisiana's Act 482 violates the Louisiana Constitution because it deprives minors of meaningful and effective access to the Courts when seeking judicial bypass to terminate a pregnancy. Prior to the Act, Louisiana minors could either pursue a judicial bypass in the jurisdiction in which they are domiciled or in the jurisdiction in which the clinic is located. Under the prior jurisdictional rule, most bypass proceedings were heard in the parishes where two of the three remaining clinics are located. This broader approach protected the anonymity of minors, ensured that the courthouses were savvy in handling these proceedings, created a path for out of state minors to seek a bypass, and worked more expeditiously. Act 482 limits the jurisdictional rules such that minors can only pursue bypass proceedings in the parish of their domicile. Lift Louisiana and If/When/How seek an injunction blocking Act 482 before it causes irreparable injury. The plaintiffs argue that this Act deprives plaintiffs of their right to access the courts under the Louisiana Constitution and violates the due process and privileges and immunities clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
