USA: Abortion ban in force in Florida and Mississippi

It is now officially in effect in Florida the prohibition of abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. On Tuesday (5/7), a court rejected a request to temporarily suspend the law, while a judge in Mississippi refused to prevent the implementation of a near-total abortion ban.

The developments are another setback for women’s rights after the US Supreme Court in late June overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized women’s rights. abortions in national level.

In Florida, the Republican state authorities appealed, as the Athens News Agency reports, a decision by Judge John Cooper, who had tried to prevent the implementation of the ban on abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

When can women have an abortion?

After the appeal, the judge’s decision was automatically frozen. This means thatbill signed in April by Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis remains in place. This provides for a ban on almost all abortions after the 15th week from the last menstrual period. Women can have an abortion if their health is threatened or if the fetus suffers from a “fatal malformation”.

Hours later, Judge Debra Halford in Jackson, Mississippi, denied a request by the state’s only abortion clinic to strike down legislation that almost completely bans abortion.

The clinic, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, appealed to the courts against legislation banning abortions after the 6th week of pregnancy. Halford rejected her request.

Mississippi is one of the 13 states of the USA which had adopted legislation aimed at banning or restricting abortion and which could come into force after the Supreme Court ruling.

Organizations in both states are expected to appeal the rulings, with attorneys for Florida abortion clinics, the civil rights group ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights vowing to try to “block it once and for all.” ban on abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

Florida has long been the go-to state for women from the southeastern U.S. seeking second-trimester abortions, as neighboring states have strict restrictions. In Florida, abortions were allowed up to the 24th week of pregnancy.

Biden revelation: He planned to appoint anti-abortion federal judge for life

US President Joe Biden had planned to nominate an anti-abortion judge for the life seat of a federal judge in Kentucky, a day before the Supreme Court announced it would overturn a 1973 ruling that legalized the right for women nationwide, according to leaked emails.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s office released emails it received from a White House official that said Biden intended to nominate Chad Meredith to the federal judgeship on June 24.

Biden, a Democrat, has come under fire from progressives in his party and abortion-rights groups such as Planned Parenthood after it emerged last week that the White House was considering nominating Meredith, a conservative who has championed restrictions on abortion adopted by Kentucky.

Since the Louisville Courier-Journal first reported on the matter, the White House has refused to confirm the information. A spokesman for the US presidency repeated yesterday Wednesday that it does not comment on the appointments of judges until they are officially announced.

In an email dated June 23, Kathleen Marshall, a senior White House official, wrote to Bessir’s team that Meredith would be nominated for the federal judgeship “tomorrow.”

The next day, on June 24, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision that recognized the constitutional right of women in the US to have an abortion.

In another email dated June 29, sent hours before the Courier-Journal first reported on the matter, Marshall clarified that the information she had shared with Beshir’s office was “confidential,” adding that it had not yet been received. final decision.