The Center for Reproductive Rights sued Mississippi on Thursday. They claimed that the new ban which prohibits abortion from the sixth week of a woman’s pregnancy violates the long-standing constitutional protections for this procedure. Attorney Rob McDuff, a Jackson-based co-counsel in the case for Mississippi Center for Justice, stated that “once again, the predominantly male Mississippi Legislature wants to make decisions for Mississippi women about matters related to childbirth.” “Like all legislative efforts before, this new law [is] both unfair and unconstitutional,” said Rob McDuff of Jackson, co-counsel on the case for the Mississippi Center for Justice. The lawsuit is a challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week ban that Bryant signed last year but was permanently blocked by a federal court in November. In April, the lawsuit was extended to include a challenge of Mississippi’s “TRAP laws”. These are smaller regulations such as parental permission requirements and waiting periods that, opponents claim, can prevent a woman getting the procedure. Gov. Phil Bryant didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit. He said that he expected a lawsuit on the day he signed last week’s law, and he supported the ban strictly morally. Bryant tweeted last Thursday that “We all will answer to the good LORD one day.” Bryant said in a tweet last Thursday that he would say, “I fought for innocent babies’ lives, even when it meant I might be sued. All of Mississippi’s elected officials agree that the law as it stands is unconstitutional. This is because the U.S. Supreme Court precedent regarding abortion, established in Roe v. Wade (1973), and further refined by Casey v. Planned Parenthood (92), allows a woman to have an abortion up until the fetus is able to live outside her womb. This has never occurred before the 21st weeks of pregnancy. Six-week ban advocates argue that the heartbeat, not viability outside of the mother, is a better indicator of life’s beginning. Bryant said to a small crowd outside the Capitol Rotunda that the heartbeat had been a universal hallmark of human life since the beginning of time. Although this has been true historically, modern medical practitioners rely more heavily on brain activity to determine the end of life. The law allows abortion until doctors detect a heartbeat. However, plaintiffs argue that a six week cutoff combined with Mississippi’s TRAP laws and the cost of the procedure make it practically impossible to perform abortions. Shannon Brewer, director at Jackson Women’s Health Organization, stated that six weeks of pregnancy are just two weeks after a woman has missed her period. Nearly all the patients we offer abortion care to are at least six weeks pregnant. Many of our patients have traveled hundreds to reach us after spending weeks saving money for abortion. These women won’t have a shot if this law goes into effect.” This is the second lawsuit in a series of legal actions this year against “fetal heartbeat bans.” A federal judge in Kentucky blocked a Kentucky six-week ban on the same day as Gov. Matt Bevin signed it into law. It was signed by Matt Bevin, and Georgia’s state legislature adopted its own six week ban last week. Similar bans have been passed in 11 other states legislatures this year. This is a rare feat of strength for six-week abortion bans. Since 2012, Mississippi legislators have introduced similar bills each year. Every single one of these bills has been defeated in committee until this session. So-called heartbeat bans, which are also illegal in the United States, have not been able to be implemented in court. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Iowa and North Dakota, respectively, have overturned six-week bans on heartbeats that were placed in Iowa and North Dakota. Republicans are encouraged by the appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh late last year and say that they believe the more conservative court will accept the heart beat argument. It has never been passed an appeals court. In February, Sen. Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall) stated that “Yes, absolutely it played a role.” “The 2017 appointment of Justice (Neil) Gorsuch didn’t change anything politically, as you were replacing one very conservative justice by another very conservative. When Justice Kennedy announced his retirement plans, and Justice Kavanaugh was finally seated, I think people on both the left and right started to wonder, “Oh my goodness!” The controversial term “fetal-heartbeat ban,” which refers to laws that prevent abortions as soon as a heartbeat is detected, is not a good idea. Opponents claim the term is a misnomer because a fetus can technically be considered an embryo up to the 13th week of pregnancy and the organ that will turn into a heart is still just one cluster of cells. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf two plaintiffs: Dr. Sacheen Car-Ellis, who is the only Mississippi abortion provider, as well as Jackson Women’s Health Clinic. They are suing Thomas Dobbs (head of the state Department of Health). To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to the Spring Member Drive today.