Judge Rejects Challenge to Mississippi Abortion Law

Updated at 6:40 P.M.JACKSON, Mississippi — As attorneys argued about abortion laws across the South on Tuesday, a Mississippi judge rejected a request by the state’s only abortion clinic to temporarily block a law that would ban most abortions.Without other developments in the Mississippi lawsuit, the clinic will close at the end of business Wednesday and the state law will take effect Thursday. A lawyer for the clinic said an appeal was being considered.In rejecting the clinic’s request Tuesday, Chancery Judge Debbra K. Halford wrote, “The plain wording of the Mississippi Constitution does not mention abortion.” She added that it is “more than doubtful” that the Mississippi Supreme Court would continue to uphold its 1998 ruling now that the United States Supreme Court has overturned its own previous abortion rulings.The law — which state lawmakers passed before the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling that allowed abortions nationwide — is set to take effect Thursday.The Jackson Women’s Health Organization sought a temporary restraining order that would allow it to remain open, at least while the lawsuit remains in court.The closely watched lawsuit is part of a flurry of activity that has occurred nationwide since the Supreme Court ruled.Conservative states have moved to halt or limit abortions while others have sought to ensure abortion rights, all as some women try to obtain the medical procedure against the changing legal landscape.Meanwhile, a Florida judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a new 15-week abortion ban days after it took effect in the state, an expected move following an oral ruling last week in which he said the law violated the state constitution. The new Mississippi law says abortion will be legal only if the pregnant woman’s life is in danger or if a pregnancy is caused by a rape reported to law enforcement. It does not have an exception for pregnancies caused by incest.Mississippi was one of several states with a “trigger” law contingent on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The law was passed in 2007 and has never been challenged in court.The clinic’s lawsuit cited a 1998 Mississippi Supreme Court ruling that said the state constitution invokes a right to privacy that “includes an implied right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.” That state decision was rooted in United States Supreme Court decisions in 1973 and 1992 that established or protected abortion rights but were overturned on June 24.In arguments filed Sunday, the state attorney general’s office said the Mississippi Constitution does not recognize a right to abortion and the state has a long history of restricting the procedure.“Text, history, and precedent all show that the Mississippi Constitution does not protect a right to abortion and that the laws here are valid,” the attorney general’s office wrote.The lawsuit was filed three days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe in a case that originated in Mississippi.The clinic has continued to see patients, but owner Diane Derzis said it will close if the near-ban on abortions takes effect.

Judge Rejects Challenge to Mississippi Abortion Law

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