I'm glad there are still judges who still just want to do their jobs, and not remake society in their own ideology. This law is meant specifically to make it impossible for women to have a legal abortion in Mississippi:
(AP) JACKSON, Miss. - A federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked enforcement of a Mississippi law that could shut down the only abortion clinic in the state.
U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan in Jackson issued a temporary restraining order the day the new law took effect.
He set a July 11 hearing to determine whether to block the law for a longer time.
"Though the debate over abortion continues, there exists legal precedent the court must follow," Jordan wrote.
The law requires anyone performing abortions at the state's only clinic to be an OB-GYN with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital. Such privileges can be difficult to obtain, and the clinic contends the mandate is designed to put it out of business. A clinic spokeswoman, Betty Thompson, has said the two physicians who do abortions there are OB-GYNs who travel from other states.
The clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, filed a lawsuit seeking to block it. The suit says the admitting privileges requirement is not medically necessary and is designed to put the clinic out of business.
If Jackson Women's Health Organization closes, Mississippi would be the only state without an abortion clinic.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has said repeatedly he wants Mississippi to be abortion-free. Bryant spokesman Mick Bullock was preparing a response Sunday night to the judge's decision to issue a temporary restraining order.
In the order, Jordan wrote: "Plaintiffs have offered evidence — including quotes from significant legislative and executive officers — that the Act's purpose is to eliminate abortions in Mississippi. They likewise submitted evidence that no safety or health concerns motivated its passage. This evidence has not yet been rebutted."
