17 May Supreme Court Must Uphold Women’s Constitutional Right to Choose, says Mississippi Center for Justice 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 17, 2021

 MCJ is one of the organizations that has filed suit against the state’s 15-week abortion ban, which disproportionately hurts African American and poor women

Jackson, Mississippi – Today, the Supreme Court announced it would take up a case concerning a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. The challenge to the 15-week ban was brought by the Mississippi Center for Justice  — in conjunction with the Center for Reproductive Rights and the law firm Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison — on behalf of Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Vangela M. Wade, president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice, made the following statement in response: 

“A 15-week abortion ban would make it all but impossible for women in Mississippi to exercise their right to choose. It falls particularly heavily on low-income and Black women, who often cannot afford to travel elsewhere for the procedure.

“Along with our co-counsel, we will fight in the Supreme Court to uphold precedent and preserve the rights of women in Mississippi and elsewhere to make their own decisions in matters of family and childbirth. An abandonment of precedent by the Supreme Court could unleash anti-abortion laws across the country and severely jeopardize these rights.”

Until the Supreme Court issues a ruling, which will be sometime in the first half of 2022, the 15-week ban is not in effect and Mississippi women can still obtain abortions just as they could prior to today’s announcement that the Supreme Court is taking the case.

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The Mississippi Center for Justice is dedicated to dismantling the state’s culture of inequity and injustice.  Supported and staffed by attorneys and other professionals, the Center develops and pursues strategies to combat discrimination and poverty statewide.