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Lawsuit filed to prevent Mississippi abortion ban after AG certifies trigger law

The law says 10 days after the certification, Mississippi will ban most abortions except for pregnancies that endanger the woman's life or caused by reported rapes.

JACKSON, Miss — The Center for Reproductive Rights said Monday afternoon it has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mississippi's only abortion clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, to prevent Mississippi from enforcing its trigger ban.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch took the step Monday morning to activate the law that will ban most abortions in the state. 

The 2007 state law says the Mississippi attorney general must publish an administrative notice if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. The court overturned Roe on Friday in a case that originated in Mississippi. Fitch, a Republican, published the notice Monday.

The law says that 10 days after publication of the attorney general's notice, Mississippi will ban most abortions except for pregnancies that endanger the woman's life or those cause by rape reported to law enforcement.

The Center for Reproductive Rights said the lawsuit was filed to prevent the state from enforcing the triggered abortion ban, and it also asks the court to prohibit Mississippi’s six-week ban, which would prohibit most abortions in the state, is not enforced. 

The lawsuit claims Mississippians have a separate right to abortion under the state Constitution, which they said was confirmed by a 1998 decision of the Mississippi Supreme Court, known as Pro-Choice Mississippi v. Fordice. They said that decision that  “[n]o right is held more sacred... than the right of every individual to the possession and control of his own person,” and that “no aspect[] of life is more personal and private than those have to do with one’s own reproductive system,” and “the state constitutional right to privacy includes an implied right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.” 

The lawsuit claims the 1998 decision remains good law, and means the state must refrain from enforcing the bans and closing JWHO’s clinic. A hearing on the new lawsuit was not immediately set. 

Diane Derzis is the owner of Jackson Women's Health Organization. Before the lawsuit was filed, she had said the clinic will close when the law takes effect. With the 10-day timeline, the law would take effect July 7 unless a court takes action.

The clinic continued to see patients Friday and Saturday. Monday was a regularly scheduled day off.

Mississippi legislative leaders, meanwhile, are creating committees to explore whether the state should update laws or policies after the Supreme Court ruling.

Posted by Attorney General Lynn Fitch on Monday, June 27, 2022

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