JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi judge has dismissed a significant lawsuit that raised concerns about a potential conflict between a 2022 state law banning most abortions and a 1998 ruling by the Mississippi Supreme Court that affirmed abortion rights under the state’s Constitution based on the right to privacy.
Hinds County Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin determined that the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists did not have standing to pursue their lawsuit against the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, filed in November 2022.
In her ruling, Judge Martin noted that the association failed to demonstrate any imminent threat of disciplinary action from the licensing board against its members, who chose not to refer patients for abortion services. She described the association’s claims of speculative harm as “unfit for review.”
Martin explained that while Mississippi law empowers the Board to impose sanctions on physicians performing prohibited abortions, it does not grant authority to discipline doctors who decline to provide abortion services due to personal or moral convictions.
Attorney Aaron Rice, representing the plaintiffs, announced intentions to appeal the ruling, emphasizing the case’s constitutional significance.
“We will appeal the ruling and look forward to presenting this important constitutional question to the Mississippi Supreme Court,” Rice stated.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on a Mississippi case in June 2022 effectively overturned nationwide abortion rights, leading to the closure of the only abortion clinic in Mississippi shortly thereafter. The new law permits abortions solely to protect a pregnant woman’s life or in cases of reported rape.
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists launched their lawsuit several months later, aiming to invalidate the 1998 state Supreme Court ruling.
While the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology has previously stated that it does not expect doctors to compromise their moral beliefs, the plaintiffs argue that this assurance is insufficient to protect their rights.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office has argued the case that led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Fitch later commented that the 1998 ruling was no longer applicable post-Roe reversal, as it was predicated on that landmark decision.
