JACKSON, Miss. (CN) — Mississippi’s last remaining abortion clinic will close permanently at the end of the day on Wednesday, after a judge ruled the state’s trigger ban on abortions and a separate six-week ban can take effect Thursday.
On Tuesday, just hours after attorneys for the Jackson Women’s Health Organization argued for a temporary restraining order against the bans until the merits of their case could be litigated, Hinds County Chancery Judge Debbra Halford denied their request, concluding the complaint did not rely upon “good law.”
The trigger law was designed to automatically ban abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned. It prohibits and criminalizes nearly all abortions in the state, leaving no exceptions for incest. If an abortion is sought for a case of rape, it must be reported to law enforcement first, but with the new law in place it is unlikely rape victims will find a doctor to perform the procedure in the state.
The clinic had argued that a 1998 Mississippi Supreme Court decision in the case of Pro-Choice Mississippi v. Fordice, which relied upon U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, essentially preserved an implied right to an abortion. But the state, in arguments Halford largely agreed with, maintained that because Roe and Casey have now been overturned, Fordice is also invalid.
Halford did not consider the state's motion to dismiss, but rather four factors determining the propriety of issuing the injunction. The clinic, known as JWHO, failed on all four, she concluded.
"The plain wording of the Mississippi Constitution does not mention abortion,” the judge wrote, adding later that, “Since Roe and Casey are no longer the law of the land, reliance upon Fordice will almost certainly not be well-founded when pursuing this case.”
Halford also found the while irreparable harm to patients claimed by JWHO “is significant and irreparable from those patient’s perspectives,” any harm to the clinic and and its physicians is just economic in nature and “consequences can be avoided by compliance with the statutes as enforced.”
Considering the balance of harm, Halford wrote injunctive relief would “clearly harm the state and its citizens. Any injunction against a state's duly enacted laws necessarily irreparably harms that state by denying the public interest in enforcement of its laws.”
Pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down the federal right to abortion, the judge also said states have “legitimate interests in restricting abortion – including respect for and preservation of prenatal life at all stages of development, the protection of maternal health and safety, the elimination of particularly gruesome or barbaric medical procedures, the preservation of the integrity of the medical profession, the mitigation of fetal pain and the prevention of discrimination on the basis of race, sex or disability.”
In a statement late Tuesday, Mississippi's Republican Governor Tate Reeves called Halford’s decision a “great victory for life.”
“This law has the potential to save the lives of thousands of unborn Mississippi children," Tate said. “I also believe it is critical that we showcase to every mother and child that they are loved and that their communities will support them. We have much more work to do. Every life has inherent dignity and Mississippi will continue to do everything it can to advance the fight for life.”
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