Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, which was forced to close on Thursday, filed a petition in the state Supreme Court asking it to allow the clinic to reopen next week.
Mississippi’s trigger law went into effect outlawing most abortions in the state and forcing the Jackson Women’s Health Organization to close its doors on Thursday following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, a landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed the right to an abortion nationally.
Also on Thursday, the clinic filed a petition to the state Supreme Court, citing a 1998 ruling in Pro Choice Mississippi v. Fordice that “abortion is protected by the Mississippi Constitution” under its right to privacy clause and asked the court to allow it to reopen.
The court had found that Article III, Section 32 of the state constitution, which guarantees the right to autonomous bodily integrity, also guarantees “the right to choose to have an abortion, like many other medical procedures.” The ruling has not been overturned.
The clinic’s attorneys argued in the petition that the court should grant their appeal for relief or “Mississippians will continue to be denied their rights under the Mississippi Constitution to privacy and bodily autonomy” and be “compelled by the State to endure the risks of pregnancy and bear children against their will.”
The clinic’s petition follows a Tuesday ruling by Franklin County Chancery Court Judge Deborah Halford refusing a request from the clinic to issue a restraining order to allow it to remain open.
According to Mississippi Today, Halford opened the Tuesday hearing with a prayer by a specially-appointed court chaplain.
“Lord, we pray for the presence of your Holy Spirit in this courtroom today … We seek your truth, not our own,” the chaplain said in court, according to Mississippi Today. “We seek your wisdom, not our own. Bless and inspire Judge Halford in her deliberations and judgments here today.”
