Clinic wants abortion before safety

The fate of a controversial Mississippi law designed to protect women is in the hands of a federal judge today. US District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III has stayed the law from going into effect while he decides if it violates existing laws that allow women access to abortion.

JACKSON, MS (Catholic Online) - The Mississippi state legislature passed the law which requires, among other things, that doctors who perform abortions have hospital privileges and can accompany women to the hospital if complications arise from the procedure. Defenders of the law say it applies common-sense safety precautions to an inherently dangerous and invasive surgical procedure that is prone to complication. 

Meanwhile, opponents, chiefly the Jackson Women's Health Organization, which is the state's only abortion mill, says the requirement to have hospital privileges would cause "irreparable harm." 

State attorneys have countered, "inconvenience is not irreparable harm."

Last month, Jordan issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the law from taking effect. Today, at 1 PM, Jordan is expected to decide what he will do next. Either he will make an immediate ruling from the bench, or he may delay proceedings further to issue a written ruling. 

Both sides have been aggressive in their advocacy.

While the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision granted women access to abortions and denied the child's Right to Life, it was modified by a 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. That opinion has been construed to allow states to regulate abortions before children are considered to be "viable". The very concept of "viability" has changed numerous times since that decision. With increasingly earlier survival rates for children born prematurely, the notion is becoming even more hard to define.

The decision in Casey case also directed that states may not place "undue burdens" or obstacles in the path of women seeking abortions. It is unclear if Jordan will rule that requiring a Doctor perfomring the procedure to have hospital privileges constitutes an "undue burden". 

Attorneys for the abortion mill say the legislature and governor have an anti-abortion agenda that has spurred the bill, rather than the obvious safety measures the bill provides for the women. They point to a statement made by Governor Bryant that he wants Mississippi to be an abortion-free state. 

Regardless of the Governor's personal stance however, the majority of people in Mississippi hope that Judge Jordan will rule for safety and uphold the law, particularly when it comes to a procedure that kills one-half of the patients who undergo it. 

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