SALON

Wednesday, Jul 11, 2012 1:15 PM UTC

Miss. anti-abortion law back before federal judge

By

Topics: From the Wires,

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A hearing Wednesday will help a federal judge decide whether to extend his temporary block of a law that could close Mississippi’s only abortion clinic.

The clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, says it could be forced to close if the state is allowed to start enforcing the measure, which would require anyone performing abortions at the clinic to be an OB-GYN with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital.

The clinic says the admitting privileges are not medically necessary and that it has been unable to obtain them for its two out-of-state OB-GYNs. It also argues in court papers that the requirement “gives hospitals a third-party veto over the availability of abortion in Mississippi” and that the clinic would face “irreparable harm” if the law were enforced.

State attorneys argue the admitting privileges requirement is designed for patient safety. They also note that while the clinic might have to wait to get hospital privileges for the two physicians, “inconvenience is not ‘irreparable harm.’”

The clinic filed a lawsuit June 27, seeking to stop enforcement of a measure that it says would shut it down and limit women’s access to a constitutionally protected medical procedure. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III issued a temporary restraining order July 1, the day it was to take effect.

During a hearing set for 1 p.m. Wednesday, the clinic’s attorneys will try to persuade Jordan to keep the law on hold, while attorneys for the state will argue it should take effect.

The temporary hold remains in effect through Wednesday’s hearing, and both sides have filed extensive written arguments.

Jordan has several options.

He could extend the temporary restraining order and give himself time to issue a written ruling on the clinic’s request for a preliminary injunction.

He could rule immediately from the bench, granting a preliminary injunction and giving attorneys on both sides time to prepare for a trial that could take place weeks or months from now.

Or he could allow the state to begin enforcing the law.

If the case goes to trial, the judge would consider whether to issue a permanent block, a decision that could be appealed.

Matt Steffey, a law professor at Mississippi College in Jackson, said a judge considers two main points in deciding whether to issue a preliminary injunction: Would there be irreparable harm if the law is enforced? And, is it likely that the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit — in this case, the clinic — would be successful if the case goes to trial?

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 established a nationwide right to abortion. In 1992, the court’s decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey upheld the Roe decision and allowed states to regulate abortions before fetuses are viable. The 1992 decision also said states may not place undue burdens or substantial obstacles in the way of women seeking abortion.

Steffey said Wednesday’s arguments could be about whether the law could be justified as a legitimate regulation of women’s health care.

“That’s, I think, the central point that will be in play,” Steffey told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “Looking at precedent, this is not the first time that states have tried to regulate abortion clinics out of existence.”

The clinic points out that Republican Gov. Phil Bryant said the day he signed the law that he wants Mississippi to be “abortion-free.”

“Contrary to plaintiffs’ suggestions, however, that comment lacks legal significance,” Bryant’s attorney, Jack L. Wilson wrote in court papers. “To begin with, Gov. Bryant has also made clear that he supports the law at issue in this case for public health reasons.”

If the clinic closes, abortion could be nearly impossible to obtain in Mississippi. The closest clinics to Jackson are about 200 miles away, in Louisiana, Tennessee and Alabama.

Mississippi physicians who perform fewer than 10 abortions a month can avoid having their offices regulated as an abortion clinic, and thus avoid restrictions in the new law. The Health Department said it doesn’t have a record of how many physicians perform fewer than 10 abortions a month. Clinic operators say almost all the abortions in the state are done in their building.

More Emily Wagster Pettus.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • A missing poster hangs on a tree outside the Cleveland home of Amanda Berry Wednesday. Berry and two other women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, made a daring escape this week after being held captive for more than a decade.
    Credit: AP/Tony Dejak

  • Elvis Rafael Rodriguez and Emir Yasser Yeje offer their best impression of  Eric B. & Rakim. On Thursday, New York prosecutors identified the pair as members of an international gang that robbed $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining ATM machines around the world.
    Credit: AP

  • New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks to a podium during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Technology Enhanced Accelerated Learning Center at Essex County Newark Tech in Newark, N.J., Tuesday. Christie made less flattering headlines this week after undergoing a secret stomach surgery to curb his weight.
    Credit: AP/Julio Cortez

  • Workers stand outside the Tung Hai Sweater Ltd. factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday after a fire broke out in its 11-story building. Eight people were killed in the blaze.
    Credit: AP/Ismail Ferdous

  • Workers rescue a woman trapped for 17 days in the rubble of a garment factory building in Saver, Bangladesh, Friday. The building's collapse was the worst industrial disaster in the country's history, killing more than 1,000 people.
    Credit: AP

  • Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford gives his victory speech Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., after winning back his old congressional seat in the state's first district.
    Credit: AP/Rainier Ehrhardt

  • Jodi Arias reacts in Maricopa Country Superior Court Wednesday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander. Arias has subsequently said she wants the death penalty, claiming she'd "prefer to die sooner than later."
    Credit: AP/The Arizona Republic/Rob Schumacher

  • Ariel Castro stands for his mug shot Thursday at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, where he is being held on $8 million bail. The former bus driver is accused of imprisoning three young women and beating them repeatedly over a period of 10 years.
    Credit: AP/Cuyahoga County

  • Charles Ramsey addresses the media Monday after helping rescue three women held captive in Cleveland for more than a decade. Ramsey's hero portraiture has been complicated by revelations of his own domestic violence record.
    Credit: AP/The Plain Dealer/Scott Shaw

  • Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force, testifies during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The military branch was rocked this week after its chief sexual assault prevention officer was charged with sexual battery.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations