Louisiana officials withhold New Orleans flood protection funding over abortion

Attorney General Jeff Landry is defending the state’s anti-abortion law in court while retaliating against city leaders vowing to protect providers and patients

In the middle of hurricane season, officials in Louisiana have voted to temporarily block the city of New Orleans from a $39m line of credit intended for critical flood protection after the city’s Democratic leadership announced its objections to newly enacted state laws criminalising abortion care.

The Louisiana State Bond Commission, at the urging of Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry, voted 7-6 on 18 August to delay approval for funding that New Orleans officials earmarked for a power plant to support drainage pumps that remove rainwater during storms.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a statement that she is “disappointed, but not surprised, by the manufactured crisis of the attorney general, who has once again delayed critical infrastructure funding in the middle of hurricane season.”

“I will continue to prioritise necessary improvements to our city’s aging infrastructure, while fighting for the reproductive rights of all women,” she said.

Mr Landry said in a statement on Facebook that “the officials in New Orleans took an oath of office to support and enforce the laws of our State, yet they have decided that some laws are not worthy of enforcement.”

He condemned what he called the city’s “open defiance of the will of the people of Louisiana” and said the commission’s vote is “another step toward ensuring the parishes and municipalities of our State comply with the laws of our State.”

Mr Landry – who is expected to run for governor in 2024 – has defended the state’s anti-abortion laws in court during an ongoing legal challenge from providers and advocates. A recent decision from the Louisiana Supreme Court allows the state to enforce the state’s three overlapping abortion bans outlawing nearly all abortions.

On 12 August, the court rejected an appeal from plaintiffs to block the state’s anti-abortion “trigger” laws a third time, striking a critical blow to abortion rights advocates and patients in the state after the US Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to abortion care by overturning the decision in half-century-old precedent affirmed by Roe v Wade.

The protracted legal battle in Louisiana has forced the closure of the state’s three remaining abortion clinics, which announced their intentions to move out of state to continue providing care.

Their closure – along with the closure of Mississippi’s sole remaining clinic – leaves both states without any abortion clinic for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Louisiana is among at least 10 states that have outlawed abortion entirely in nearly all instances.

As many as 26 states could outlaw abortion without constitutional protections affirmed by Roe. Anti-abortion state lawmakers across the US are expected to consider more-restrictive legislation in the coming weeks and months. Earlier this month, Indiana was the first state to adopt a new anti-abortion law after Roe’s collapse.

The New Orleans City Council passed a resolution urging the city’s law enforcement against prosecuting providers or making arrests under Louisiana’s law.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is defending the state’s anti-abortion laws during an ongoing legal challenge from providers and advocates. (REUTERS)

The resolution affirms that “equal access to abortion care is essential for social and economic equality and reproductive autonomy” and the city’s “commitment to protecting the rights of its residents to make reproductive health decisions, including abortion care.”

District Attorney Jason Williams told The Independent in June that his office is “focused on pursuing accountability and justice for the most serious, violent crimes committed against our people”.

“We cannot and will not shift the priority from tackling senseless shootings and rapes to investigating the choices women make with regard to their own bodies,” he said.

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson also said in a statement last month that she will “not use the limited resources of our offices to criminalize a woman’s right to choose or a physician’s duty of care.”

The bond commission’s latest vote delays funding for the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board project for the second month in a row, blocking construction of vital infrastructure as the city endures torrential rains while continuing to rely on a system that was first installed in the early 1900s.

“Find something nonessential to go after,” Paul Rainwater, a lobbyist for the city of New Orleans, told the commission last week. “Not the Sewerage and Water Board, not the power station, not the pumps. … You’re putting a lot of people at risk.”

Jay Dardenne, the top budget adviser to Governor John Bel Edwards, condemned the move as partisan “political theater”.

New Orleans City Council president Helena Moreno said in a statement that the commission’s vote shows that “they do not care for the people of New Orleans, nor do they care and have compassion for women who are facing incredibly tragic circumstances.”