The Jackson Women's Health Organization (Photo: AP)
Jul 30, 2014
Mississippi's last remaining abortion clinic will stay open after a U.S. federal appeals court ruling on Tuesday.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a law that required abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at local hospitals, which can be difficult to acquire as doctors' applications are often ignored or rejected, both from local and out-of-state physicians. The Jackson Women's Health Organization had been denied admitting privileges at seven hospitals in the area and was at risk of losing its license.
"Today's ruling ensures women who have decided to end a pregnancy will continue, for now, to have access to safe, legal care in their home state," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "The promise of the U.S. Constitution is one that ensures all of our rights are protected no matter where we happen to live. We will continue this fight to ensure the fundamental rights established by the U.S. Supreme Court more than 40 years ago remain a reality for women in Mississippi and across the country."
The court, which voted 2-1 on the ruling, said that abortion access is a constitutional right that must be guaranteed by all states and that the law, H.B. 1390, places an "undue burden" on women. According to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, an undue burden is "a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability," which judges said includes being forced to travel out of state, as many of the law's advocates claimed was a reasonable solution.
"Pre-viability, a woman has the constitutional right to end her pregnancy by abortion," Judge E. Grady Jolly wrote for the majority. "H.B. 1390 effectively extinguishes that right within Mississippi's borders. Mississippi may not shift its obligation to respect the established constitutional rights of its citizens to another state."
Ten other states have similar laws, which has led to widespread closures of abortion clinics throughout the country. The Jackson Women's Health Organization has been operating since the early 1980s and has outlasted the closure of dozens of nearby clinics. If it had been forced to shut down, abortion would have been inaccessible throughout the entire state.
The American Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have opposed the requirement for abortion providers to obtain hospital admitting privileges.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Our Summer Campaign is now underway, and there’s never been a more urgent time for Common Dreams to be as vigilant as possible. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Mississippi's last remaining abortion clinic will stay open after a U.S. federal appeals court ruling on Tuesday.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a law that required abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at local hospitals, which can be difficult to acquire as doctors' applications are often ignored or rejected, both from local and out-of-state physicians. The Jackson Women's Health Organization had been denied admitting privileges at seven hospitals in the area and was at risk of losing its license.
"Today's ruling ensures women who have decided to end a pregnancy will continue, for now, to have access to safe, legal care in their home state," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "The promise of the U.S. Constitution is one that ensures all of our rights are protected no matter where we happen to live. We will continue this fight to ensure the fundamental rights established by the U.S. Supreme Court more than 40 years ago remain a reality for women in Mississippi and across the country."
The court, which voted 2-1 on the ruling, said that abortion access is a constitutional right that must be guaranteed by all states and that the law, H.B. 1390, places an "undue burden" on women. According to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, an undue burden is "a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability," which judges said includes being forced to travel out of state, as many of the law's advocates claimed was a reasonable solution.
"Pre-viability, a woman has the constitutional right to end her pregnancy by abortion," Judge E. Grady Jolly wrote for the majority. "H.B. 1390 effectively extinguishes that right within Mississippi's borders. Mississippi may not shift its obligation to respect the established constitutional rights of its citizens to another state."
Ten other states have similar laws, which has led to widespread closures of abortion clinics throughout the country. The Jackson Women's Health Organization has been operating since the early 1980s and has outlasted the closure of dozens of nearby clinics. If it had been forced to shut down, abortion would have been inaccessible throughout the entire state.
The American Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have opposed the requirement for abortion providers to obtain hospital admitting privileges.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Mississippi's last remaining abortion clinic will stay open after a U.S. federal appeals court ruling on Tuesday.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a law that required abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at local hospitals, which can be difficult to acquire as doctors' applications are often ignored or rejected, both from local and out-of-state physicians. The Jackson Women's Health Organization had been denied admitting privileges at seven hospitals in the area and was at risk of losing its license.
"Today's ruling ensures women who have decided to end a pregnancy will continue, for now, to have access to safe, legal care in their home state," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "The promise of the U.S. Constitution is one that ensures all of our rights are protected no matter where we happen to live. We will continue this fight to ensure the fundamental rights established by the U.S. Supreme Court more than 40 years ago remain a reality for women in Mississippi and across the country."
The court, which voted 2-1 on the ruling, said that abortion access is a constitutional right that must be guaranteed by all states and that the law, H.B. 1390, places an "undue burden" on women. According to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, an undue burden is "a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability," which judges said includes being forced to travel out of state, as many of the law's advocates claimed was a reasonable solution.
"Pre-viability, a woman has the constitutional right to end her pregnancy by abortion," Judge E. Grady Jolly wrote for the majority. "H.B. 1390 effectively extinguishes that right within Mississippi's borders. Mississippi may not shift its obligation to respect the established constitutional rights of its citizens to another state."
Ten other states have similar laws, which has led to widespread closures of abortion clinics throughout the country. The Jackson Women's Health Organization has been operating since the early 1980s and has outlasted the closure of dozens of nearby clinics. If it had been forced to shut down, abortion would have been inaccessible throughout the entire state.
The American Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have opposed the requirement for abortion providers to obtain hospital admitting privileges.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.