TO CLOSE

Outside the Supreme Court Building on January 18, 2019. (Photo: Jose Luis Magana / AP)

US District Judge Carlton Reeves on Tuesday asked specific questions about the Mississippi law banning abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, at about six weeks of pregnancy.

In 2018, Reeves was the judge who quashed a 15-week abortion ban.

"Is not it just six, it's less than 15?" Reeves asked, adding that the new law "feels the challenge to this court".

In his previous decision, Reeves wrote that "the Mississippi law violates the Supreme Court's precedent and, in so doing, it does not take into account the guarantee of autonomy guaranteed by the 14th amendment to women wishing to control their own health. reproductive ".

Governor Phil Bryant The bill was passed in March and will come into effect on July 1 if it is not blocked. The bill does not provide any exceptions for women who are victims of rape or incest.

"So, a child raped at 10 or 11 years old, this child does not open his mouth, does not tell his parents, the rapist is perhaps at home, no one discovers that he is too much late – it's a fetal heartbeat has been detected – this child must bring the fetus to term under this law, if the fetal heart rate can be detected, "said Reeves.

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Jackson Women's Health Organization (JWHO), the last remaining abortion clinic in the state, which does not perform abortions after 16 weeks .

Hillary Schneller, a lawyer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the Mississippi Heartbeat Act was "patently unconstitutional" and likely would not survive a federal court challenge.

"It's essential to remind people that none of these bans have taken effect and we do not expect them to be," Schneller told TODAY USA. "Everyone deserves to have access to abortion, no matter what state she lives in."

Opponents say that six-week bans, or heartbeat bills, are similar to total abortion bans, as many women do not know that they are pregnant at six weeks.

Three other states – Georgia, Ohio and Kentucky – have passed impulsive bills this year. A Kentucky judge temporarily blocked the state's bill in March, claiming that the American Civil Liberties Union's claim that it would be unconstitutional would likely result in a court.

The ACLU filed a federal complaint last week to challenge the Ohio law and seek an order barring its entry into force on July 10. The ACLU announced its intention to challenge Georgia's bill before it came into force in January.

Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU Freedom of Reproduction Project, said that Georgian law would also be canceled.

"Although one might wonder if the Supreme Court would cancel (Roe v. Wade)," said Dalven. "Federal district courts are not empowered to ignore the (unconstitutional nature of abortion bans) even if they do not like it."

At least 17 states in the country are considering or have passed laws this year restricting abortion rights.

MAP: Where is abortion legal? All over. But …

Last week, Alabama passed the most extreme abortion ban the country has known since the historic Roe v. Wade in 1973. The law allows abortion only if the life of the mother or fetus is in danger and imposes a prison sentence on the doctors who carry out the procedure. .

Emboldened by a new conservative majority in the US Supreme Court, Republican lawmakers say they are passing anti-abortion bills to try to overthrow Roe v. Wade.

The Center for Reproductive Rights has initiated 26 legal actions against anti-abortion bills across the country. Schneller said the Center and partner organizations are committed to challenging any law that deprives women of their rights to abortion.

Contributor: Sarah Fowler, Mississippi Clarion-Ledger

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