Judge rules federal agency cannot force Louisiana, Mississippi to offer employee accommodations for abortions

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in a case brought by Louisiana, Mississippi and a group of Catholics to stop a federal rule that would have required them to provide workers who wanted to get abortions with time off and other accommodations.

Judge David Joseph granted temporary relief on Monday in two consolidated lawsuits – one brought by the attorneys general of Louisiana and Mississippi, and another brought by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic University and two Catholic dioceses.