The Women’s Health Organization of Jackson has suspended operations after a Mississippi judge on Tuesday rejected its request to block the state’s enabling law banning abortions from going into effect. “This order we think is absolutely outrageous and wrong,” said Hilary Sneller, a senior staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights who was part of the team that argued the case in court on Tuesday. “Today was the first day that abortion became criminal in Mississippi for the first time in 50 years because the enabling ban went into effect.” An abortion clinic security guard and abortion rights protesters confront an anti-abortion protester outside the Jackson Women’s Health Organization on the last day of abortions before the clinic closes for good, in Jackson, Miss., on July 6. (Liliana Salgado/Reuters) As the only abortion site in Mississippi, the clinic was serving patients until Wednesday as tensions erupted between protesters on both sides of the issue outside the building. Judge Debbra Halford explained that the Mississippi Supreme Court, not the local court, is the body that decides questions of constitutionality as she denied the last-minute push. But the fight may not be over. “So, actually a few minutes ago, the Mississippi Center for Reproductive Rights and Justice and the Paul, Weiss law firm representing the clinic filed a petition in the Mississippi Supreme Court asking them for emergency relief to fix the district court decision and allow the clinic to continue services,” Schneller told Yahoo News. In June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade as part of its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, concluding that abortion was not a constitutional right. This gave states the power to limit the process. More than a dozen had already passed “trigger laws” to implement outright bans. Jackson Women’s Health, the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, has closed. (Kathleen Flynn/Reuters) Dr. Cheryl Hamlin is one of several doctors who rotate shifts at the “Pink House,” a nickname for the Women’s Health Organization of Jackson. He worked at the clinic until Tuesday afternoon helping patients and returned Wednesday for the last procedures the clinic could perform, according to NBC News. The story continues “I’m sure the women who do it make it out of state to get [the] procedure, when they return they will be afraid to seek medical treatment. Some people will abort themselves. Some people will continue to be dangerous [pregnancies]so I mean it’s obviously devastating for these women,” Hamlin told NBC’s Lester Holt. “Illinois is probably the closest state. I mean, I think it’s probably a seven hour drive or something to the nearest clinic. New Mexico is about a 10 hour drive away. Massachusetts is a 22-hour drive.” Diane Derzis, owner of the Pink House, plans to move the clinic to Las Cruces, with NM Hamlin expected to follow. They expect to begin serving patients there in about two weeks. But they know it will be a challenge for women left in Mississippi to find services elsewhere. Betty Thompson worked for the Jackson Women’s Health Organization as a consultant for 25 years. She talked about her work with the clinic in a video with StoryCorps, an outlet that creates and shares human interest stories. “We know we’re the only clinic in Mississippi and we’re needed and that’s why I’m here,” she said. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, pointed out that the state’s abortion bans went into effect on July 7 and praised Halford’s decision. “This law has the potential to save the lives of thousands of Mississippi’s unborn children,” Reeves said. “It’s a big win for a lifetime. I also believe it is important to show every mother and child that they are loved and that their communities will support them. We have a lot more work to do. Every life has inherent dignity, and Mississippi will continue to do all it can to advance the fight for life.” For Schneller, this is not just a fight for Mississippi, but a fight for all states that ban abortion. Patients rush past protesters leaving the Pink House after the US Supreme Court’s decision in the abortion case Dobbs v. Women’s Health Organization. (Gabriella Borter/Reuters) “Clinics in Arkansas, Alabama and Texas and across the region were forced to stop providing abortion services. Mississippi was able to stay open for a few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision,” he said. “Now that it’s been forced to close, it’s no longer a haven for patients from all over the South, and now people from Mississippi will have to cross multiple state lines to access abortion care. I cannot put into words how devastating and chaotic the next few days, months and years will be for people trying to seek abortion care. Many of these people will not be able to leave the state to try to access care and will be forced by their government to endure the risks of pregnancy and childbirth.”
