West Virginia pro-life law blocked

Circuit Court Judge Tera L. Salango put a preliminary injunction on an 1882 law in West Virginia that protects babies in every case except to save the life of the mother. The judge said the law had been inactive for decades and that it is superseded by a 2015 law that only protects babies after 20 weeks, among others. State attorneys said if not for Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court overturned last month, the 1882 law would have been active.

What’s happening in other states? In Indiana, federal courts have lifted injunctions against several pro-life laws that judges placed on hold while awaiting the outcome of Dobbs v. Jackson, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. In Louisiana, U.S. District Judge Donald Johnson left a restraining order in place on a pro-life law that would protect babies in every case except to save the life of the mother. He said he would rule sometime after he got information from both sides Tuesday.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in WORLD Magazine on uncertainty in Michigan after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.