On Friday, a federal court of appeals deemed Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban unconstitutional.
The decision came from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals after the states only abortion clinic in Mississippi sued Governor Phil Bryant who signed the bill into law. The law was originally blocked by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves.
We will sustain our efforts to fight for America’s unborn children. Mississippi will continue this mission to the United States Supreme Court. https://t.co/O3NE8dm1Sf
— Phil Bryant (@PhilBryantMS) December 14, 2019
“In an unbroken line dating to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion cases have established (and affirmed, and re-affirmed) a woman’s right to choose an abortion before viability,” the appeals court judges wrote, according to the AP. “States may regulate abortion procedures prior to viability so long as they do not impose an undue burden on the woman’s right but they may not ban abortions. The law at issue is a ban. Thus, we affirm the district court’s invalidation of the law.”
The 15-week ban was originally passed in 2018 and another more restrictive law was pushed through in 2019 by law makers. The most recent law would restrict abortions in the state up to six weeks. This bill was deemed the “Heartbeat Bill.” It is still in the appeal process after also being blocked by Judge Reeves after a suit was filed.
Sarah Ulmer
