For Immediate Release

July 29, 2014

Women Just Won Big In Mississippi

Feminist Majority Foundation leaders are elated by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding a preliminary injunction against a Mississippi TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider) law that would have closed the only abortion clinic in the state. FMF congratulates the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO) for this important win.

Taken by Edwith Theogene outside of Jackson Women's Health Organization
Taken by Edwith Theogene outside of Jackson Women’s Health Organization

“This is a major victory for the women of Mississippi and potentially for the women of the United States. The Mississippi TRAP law would have closed the only comprehensive women’s reproductive health clinic in the state and necessitated women driving hundreds of miles to exercise their constitutional right to an abortion. For women who could not afford to travel out of state, this ruling literally saves lives,” said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, who encouraged the founder of the JWHO, Susan Hill, to establish the clinic. Hill opened JWHO to ensure that low-income women in Mississippi could access a full range of reproductive health services.

“Although we celebrate this ruling,” continued Smeal, “we cannot rest until this law and all other TRAP laws are permanently struck down.”

DuVergne Gaines, Director of the Feminist Majority Foundation National Clinic Access Project said, “As leader of the Feminist Majority Foundation’s clinic defense team, I am here in Mississippi, and we are elated by this federal appeals court decision today as well as with the local convictions yesterday of three anti-abortion extremists in Jackson City Municipal court for interfering with access to the Jackson clinic.”

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Mississippi state law requiring doctors at the only abortion clinic in Jackson to have admitting privileges at a local hospital was an unconstitutional burden on women’s right to choose an abortion. This decision means that the Jackson Women’s Health Organization will remain open despite state legislative attempts to make Mississippi an abortion-free state.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 29, 2014
J.T. Johnson: (office) 703-522-2214 |  (cell) 202-681-7251 | jjohnson@feminist.org

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