Since 2012, a Mississippi law has required abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The three physicians who serve the state’s only abortion clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, tried and failed to secure such privileges, and the clinic sued the state.
On July 29, 2014, a three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the Mississippi law.
"Mississippi may not shift its obligation to respect the established constitutional rights of its citizens to another state,” Judge E. Grady Jolly wrote for the majority.
Judge Jolly added that the law would have placed “an undue burden” on women seeking abortions. The state had argued that going to another state for an abortion did not constitute an undue burden.
In March 2014, a different three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit upheld a similar Texas law that requires admitting privileges.
Supporters of “admitting privileges” laws say they are designed to protect women. Opponents say women are already protected with access to emergency rooms, and that the laws aim to close clinics.
The Mississippi law now could go before the full Fifth Circuit or straight to the US Supreme Court.
