By Heather Clark
Christian News
A federal judge in Mississippi has placed a permanent injunction against the enforcement of an admitting privileges law that would have closed the state’s last abortion facility.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan III, appointed to the bench by then-President George W. Bush, granted a request from the Center for Reproductive Rights to convert his previous partial preliminary injunction into a permanent one in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.
In issuing the order, Jordan pointed to the state’s acknowledgement that the law does not differ from the Texas legislation struck down by the nation’s highest court last June, as well as their concession that the ruling was binding.
After the bill was signed into law, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the last abortion facility in the state, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the requirements. During a hearing, the facility explained in court that it had been unsuccessful in obtaining admitting privileges, and was granted six months of additional time to comply. However, none of the area hospitals agreed to partner with the facility despite the extension.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan III, appointed to the bench by then-President George W. Bush, granted a request from the Center for Reproductive Rights to convert his previous partial preliminary injunction into a permanent one in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.
In issuing the order, Jordan pointed to the state’s acknowledgement that the law does not differ from the Texas legislation struck down by the nation’s highest court last June, as well as their concession that the ruling was binding.
“Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ motion is granted,” he wrote. “Defendants are permanently enjoined from any and all forms of enforcement of the admitting privileges requirement of H.B. 1390 against Plaintiffs.”As previously reported, in 2012, Mississippi legislators enacted a law requiring abortionists to have board certification and obtain hospital admitting privileges. The latter requirement, which allows abortionists to send injured women to local hospitals for further treatment, was said to serve as a safeguard to protect mothers that need critical medical care.
After the bill was signed into law, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the last abortion facility in the state, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the requirements. During a hearing, the facility explained in court that it had been unsuccessful in obtaining admitting privileges, and was granted six months of additional time to comply. However, none of the area hospitals agreed to partner with the facility despite the extension.
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