The request is based on the state Supreme Court’s 1998 ruling that the Mississippi Constitution gave women the right to an abortion. That decision has not been overturned and supersedes laws passed by the Legislature that ban abortions in most cases, abortion clinic attorneys argue. The petition filed Thursday in Superior Court follows Tuesday’s ruling by Franklin County Chancery Judge Debbra Halford denying a request for a temporary restraining order allowing the clinic to remain open. The filing before the Supreme Court noted that Halford opened the hearing on Tuesday with a prayer from a specially appointed priest: “Lord, we pray for the presence of your Holy Spirit in this courtroom today … We ask for your truth, not your ours. We seek your wisdom, not ours. Bless and inspire Judge Halford in her deliberations and judgments here today.” Abortion rights advocates are asking the Court to suspend two laws. Mississippi has an enabling law that went into effect based on the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in late June that overturned Roe v. Wade, which had recognized abortion rights in the U.S. Constitution. Another law in Mississippi banning abortions after six weeks also went into effect as a result of the Roe overturn. “We hope the Mississippi Supreme Court will uphold its previous ruling that the Mississippi Constitution protects women’s rights to make their own childbearing decisions. But, unfortunately, we live in an age where established rules of law are being thrown aside. We hope that doesn’t happen here,” said Jackson attorney Rob McDuff of the Mississippi Justice Center, which is representing the clinic. The Center for Reproductive Rights is also representing the clinic. McDuff argued before Halford that those laws would be violated by a 1998 state Supreme Court ruling that abortion rights are protected by the Mississippi Constitution. Only the state Supreme Court could overturn that opinion, just as only the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe, McDuff argued Tuesday before Halford. Halford rejected McDuff’s argument, refusing to grant the temporary injunction because, she said, it was possible the state Supreme Court would reverse the 1998 decision. In filings before the Supreme Court, the clinic said Halford “abused her discretion” by basing her decision on what she believed the Supreme Court would do. “This reasoning is contrary to the rule of law and the Court’s authority to have the final say on the meaning of the Mississippi Constitution,” the filing said. Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office opposed the six-week suspension of the activation law and the ban. Fitch also filed the lawsuit – Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – that led the Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Fitch’s office argued before Halford that the 1998 decision by the state’s highest court was based on the fact that Roe was state law. Now that Roe has been overturned, the state Supreme Court’s 1998 decision is no longer good law. But McDuff pointed out nowhere in the 1998 decision was that connection made. The enabling law prohibits all abortions except in cases where the mother’s life is at risk or in cases of rape reported by law enforcement. The other law prohibits abortions after six weeks except in medical emergencies. “We are simply asking the Supreme Court of the Member States to uphold its decision. It would be wrong to reverse decades of precedent and allow government and politics to override a woman’s right to make health decisions that directly affect her life,” said Vangela Wade, executive director of the Mississippi Justice Center. Vangela Wade is a board member of Mississippi Today.
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