US: Southern states allow abortion bans after Roe decision
July 6, 2022
A judge in the southern US state of Mississippi on Tuesday rejected a request by the state's only abortion clinic to block a state law that would ban most abortions.
If there are no other legal developments affecting the ruling, the abortion clinic will be required to close by end of Wednesday. The law will take effect on Thursday.
Hillary Schneller, an attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, told the Associated Press that "people in Mississippi who need abortions right now are in a state of panic, trying to get into the clinic before it's too late."
Impact of Roe v. Wade decision
Mississippi, a Republican-controlled state, was among 13 other states that passed so-called "trigger laws" that are designed to either ban abortion or restrict access to it once the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court last month struck down the 1973 ruling that constitutionally guaranteed women the right to an abortion until the point a fetus could viably live outside the womb, at about 23-25 weeks.
The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe involved upholding a different Mississippi law barring abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, had filed a lawsuit against the trigger laws.
Florida, Louisiana severely limit abortion access
Florida's ban on abortions after 15 weeks also went into effect once again Tuesday, after a court order blocking its enforcement was put on hold.
A judge had blocked the law temporarily after state health providers argued that the state constitution guarantees a right to procedure.
However, the state appealed his order, putting the law back into effect.
The Florida law makes exemptions if the procedure is necessary to save a pregnant woman's life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow exemptions for pregnancies caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.
In Louisiana, the state attorney general on Tuesday said an order blocking the enforcement of the so-called trigger statutes, or laws that would ban most abortions, should be dissolved.
The order to block the enforcement of Louisiana triggers came last week, from a state judge in New Orleans, who said enforcement of the laws would be pending a court hearing on a lawsuit filed by a north Louisiana abortion clinic and others.
Even though the trigger statutes were put to place to ban abortions, in some cases, the law requires an official, like the state attorney general, to officially cite the end of Roe v. Wade for the state laws to take effect.
rm/wmr (AP, Reuters)