The future of Mississippi's last abortion clinic rests in the hands of three U.S. appeals court judges, who will decide if a state law poses an unconstitutional ban on a woman's right to end her pregnancy.
The law in question, in effect since 2012, requires all doctors at abortion clinics register for admittance privileges at nearby hospitals, the Associated Press reported. The law has placed the state's last abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, in peril because its doctors have been unable to obtain the hospital privileges. The clinic, which brought a lawsuit against the state, is currently waiting for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide if the law places an "undue burden" on women in Mississippi.
"It seems to me you've got a steep hill to climb when you say the only clinic in the state is closing," Judge E. Grady Jolly told lawyers representing the state during Monday arguments, the AP reported.
The appeals court has already acknowledged that the law could force women to travel outside the state in order to have an abortion.
But Paul Barns, from the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, said more than 3,000 women left the state to have abortions done in 2011, and that there are plenty of areas in bordering states that provide them. Barns also said the law was put in place with women's health in mind, the AP reported.
Other opponents of the law argue that the Jackson clinic, which is nicknamed "pink house," has competent doctors who are capable of transferring patients who need medical treatment. Forcing out-of-state abortions would leave the state unable to keep track of doctors who perform abortions on state residents, said Julie Rikelman, who argued on the side of the clinic, the AP reported.
The panel of judges has yet to reach a decision. Neighboring Louisiana may soon pass legislation that would require similar hospital privileges, and a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas upheld a similar law in March.
