Judge Sets Trial Date in Test of Louisiana Abortion Law : Legislation: The case in U.S. District Court puts in motion what could be the long process toward review of the strict measure by the high court.

On the day after the Louisiana Legislature overrode the governor’s veto and enacted the strictest anti-abortion measure in the country, a federal judge Wednesday set in motion what could be the long process toward review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Adrian Duplantier in New Orleans set July 23 as the trial date to test the constitutionality of the law, which bans abortions except to save a mother’s life and in cases of rape or incest.

Meanwhile, abortions were performed as scheduled in Louisiana Wednesday. The law does not go into effect until 60 days after the close of the legislative session, which must end by July 8.

Anti-abortion activists reveled in the enactment and the possibility that it might lead to the overturning of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions. Abortion rights supporters claimed the law would not stand up in court, but Louisiana Atty. Gen. William Guste, in a Wednesday interview, said recent Supreme Court decisions made him believe the measure was consistent with the general philosophy of the present court.

“The majority of the court feels the state has a compelling interest in protecting the life of everyone, including the unborn,” said Guste.

The passage of the anti-abortion bill comes after two turbulent years in which Gov. Buddy Roemer, who recently switched parties from Democrat to Republican, vetoed three anti-abortion measures. The vote Tuesday was the first successful override of a Louisiana governor’s veto in this century.

In exercising his veto last Friday, Roemer said the bill dishonored women and put too much of the pressure on doctors. Although women who sought abortions would not be punished, doctors could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined as much as $100,000 if they perform an illegal abortion.

Roemer objected to the requirement that rape and incest victims seeking an abortion must report the attacks within a week and seek medical attention within five days. He further argued for allowing the abortion of deformed fetuses.

One legislator, State Sen. Foster Campbell, tried to add a number of amendments to the bill that would have broadened the scope of those who could qualify for an abortion, including women known to be carrying the HIV virus. All his proposals failed, but Campbell voted for the measure anyway.

“It was a tough decision. Some things are not black and white. This one certainly wasn’t,” he said. “This is a bill that nobody wanted to vote on, but it just kept coming and coming.”

Gwen Hejl, president of New Orleans Right to Life, said her organization was “thrilled” about the prospect of the Louisiana case making its way through the courts.

“It’s exciting to see the fruits of our labor and know we’re moving in the right direction,” she said. “We are very hopeful that the bill will pass through the appeals process and go all the way to the Supreme Court so it can be seen by the justices as a challenge to Roe vs. Wade.”

The possibility of a challenge was enhanced by a 1989 decision by the Supreme Court that gave the states much greater latitude to toughen their abortion laws. Among the handful of states that have passed such laws, Utah was considered the strictest before the Louisiana override. Legislatures in Idaho and North Dakota also passed more stringent abortion laws, but they were vetoed by the governors of those states.

Shirley Pedler, the president of the Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, charged that the Louisiana law is on shaky legal ground in several areas, such as the provision that rape and incest victims report their pregnancy to the authorities and obtain an abortion within 13 weeks of being impregnated.

“A 13-year-old girl who has been impregnated by her father is not going to go to law enforcement authorities,” she said. “She would be too frightened.”

State Rep. Robert Adley, a floor leader for the governor on financial matters, said he voted to override the veto, but only after a long discussion with Roemer.

“He put me in a position to vote as I saw fit on the issue. It was a very personal vote for all of us out here,” he said. “There were things that were wrong with the bill, but I also had to analyze the things that were right with the bill.”