A US federal judge Friday blocked Mississippi’s strict abortion law which would have banned the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy.
The bill banning abortion where a heartbeat is detectable — from six weeks — was passed in March and was due to go into effect on July 1.
“Here we go again. Mississippi has passed another law banning abortions prior to viability,” district judge Carlton Reeves wrote in his order “The parties have been here before. Last spring, plaintiffs successfully challenged Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks. The Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional and permanently enjoined its enforcement. The State responded by passing an even more restrictive bill”
Last year, the state passed a law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but it was blocked before Reeves ruled in November that it violated women’s rights.