By William Perkins
Editor
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch on June 26 posted the legally-required certification of the “trigger law” that will lead to the closure of the last abortion clinic in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 overruled Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the nation.
Under Mississippi’s legislatively-approved trigger law, the attorney general was required to publish a determination that the Supreme Court had overruled Roe v. Wade, and that it is reasonably probable that Mississippi’s trigger law would be upheld as constitutional.
The Supreme Court’s decision last week was based on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a lawsuit that challenged the law passed by the Mississippi Legislature in 2018 that banned abortions in the state after 15 weeks gestation. Dobbs is Thomas Dobbs, the now-retired State Health Officer at the Mississippi Department of Health. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, located on North State Street in Jackson.
Fitch was the lead attorney who presented the state’s argument to uphold Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization before the Supreme Court on December 6 of last year.
“As we have said throughout this case, Roe v. Wade presented a false choice between a woman’s future and her child’s life,” Fitch said in issuing the certification. “As we proceed in this post-Roe world, the people of Mississippi and of all the states will be able to fully engage in the work of both empowering women and promoting life. I am grateful that the Court has given us this opportunity.”
The Supreme Court’s decision means that, under the U.S. Constitution, the legality of abortion will now be determined by individual states. Elected leaders in several states have already announced they will seek to keep abortion legal, while leaders in other states are expected to follow Mississippi’s lead in prohibiting the procedure. Yet to be determined is the status of non-surgical, chemical abortions which are accomplished by oral pills.
“The Supreme Court very clearly held in Dobbs that the appropriate standard for courts to use for challenges to state abortion laws is rational-basis review and under that standard, Mississippi’s regulations for the protection of life would be upheld,” Fitch pointed out.
“We argued before the Court in December that it was time to end special rules for abortion cases, and we are pleased that the Court did just that, returning this important issue to the people to decide through the political process,” she said.
Diane Derzis, owner of the Mississippi abortion clinic, has said she will move the clinic to New Mexico, one of the states expected to approve of abortions. Derzis also said the Jackson clinic will continue to provide abortion services during the 10-day period before the certification takes effect.
