Supreme Court Temporarily Suspends Louisiana Abortion Restrictions

The Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily stayed a Louisiana law that abortion-rights advocates say would have left only one provider of the procedure in the state. The majority of five justices included Chief Justice John Roberts, who leans conservative but has become the closest thing to a swing vote in controversial cases since the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who frequently broke ties on the divided court. The Louisiana’s Unsafe Abortion Protection Act requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, a restriction that has drawn the ire of abortion advocates, who say it puts an unreasonable burden on physicians and women seeking the procedure.