Mississippi’s Lone Abortion Clinic Gets Reprieve

The state's only abortion clinic had been threatened with closure due to a state law requiring doctors to have hospital privileges.

The Associated Press: Miss. Abortion Clinic Owner: 'Business As Usual'
Mississippi's only abortion clinic was open Monday after a federal judge temporarily blocked a law from being enforced that the clinic says could regulate it out of business. The owner of Jackson Women's Health Organization said it was "business as usual" and the clinic's two physicians will continue to see patients and do abortions unless a court orders them to stop (Pettus, 7/2). 

Reuters: Mississippi Abortion Law Could Face Long Legal Fight
The Jackson Women's Health Organization had struggled to meet the demands of the controversial law that took effect on Sunday ahead of a state inspection scheduled for Monday. But the inspection was scuttled when a federal judge on Sunday temporarily barred the state from requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Experts said the legal fight could take months or years to resolve (Le Coz, 7/2).

The New York Times: Mississippi's Lone Abortion Clinic, Given Temporary Reprieve, Fields Rush Of Calls
Had the clinic been forced to close, Mississippi would have been the only state with no abortion clinic. ... The clinic’s three doctors normally perform about 40 abortions a week, but received more than 100 calls in one day last week from women trying to schedule appointments. Two of the doctors live out of state and will fly in to perform abortions this week, said Diane Derzis, the clinic owner. ... In April, Mississippi became the 10th state to pass a law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have hospital privileges (Brown, 7/2).