Judge Blocks Anti-Abortion Law in Mississippi A federal judge on Sunday night temporarily blocked the State of Mississippi from closing its last remaining abortion clinic, which was the target of a new law designed to limit abortions. Critics of the law said it would force women to drive hundreds of miles out of state to get an abortion, but it has the strong backing of Gov. Phil Bryant, who has publicly stated that he would like to see his state be "abortion-free." The law was scheduled to go into effect on Monday - almost certainly forcing the clinic, the Jackson Women's Health Organization, to close - so supporters of the clinic asked the courts to intervene. Judge Daniel P. Jordan III of Federal District Court issued a ruling late Sunday that temporarily blocked the new law from taking effect. He scheduled a hearing on the matter for July 11. "Though the debate over abortion continues, there exists legal precedent the court must follow," Judge Jordan wrote. The injunction was hailed by supporters of abortion rights. "Today's decision reaffirms the fundamental constitutional rights of women in Mississippi and ensures the Jackson Women's Health Organization can continue providing the critical reproductive health care that they have offered to women for the last 17 years," said Nancy Northup, president and chief executive of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a New York group that helped file the suit on the clinic's behalf. The opponents of reproductive rights in the Mississippi Legislature have made no secret of their intent to make legal abortion virtually disappear in the state of Mississippi. Their hostility toward women, reproductive health care providers and the rights of both would unquestionably put the lives and health of countless women at risk of grave harm," she said. Lawmakers argued that their concern was for the health of women, saying the law was designed to make sure they were properly cared for in the event of complications during abortions. But the lawsuit brought on behalf of the clinic notes that supporters of the new law have publicly stated the broader intention to limit abortions. It cites Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves's Web site, which says that the law "not only protects the health of the mother but should close the only abortion clinic in Mississippi" Judge Jordan found the argument compelling, writing, "Plaintiffs have offered evidence - including quotes from significant legislative and executive officers - that the act's purpose is to eliminate abortions in Mississippi. They likewise submitted evidence that no safety or health concerns motivated its passage. This evidence has not yet been rebutted. There was no immediate response from state officials. Mississippi is one of several states where conservative lawmakers have passed legislation aimed at limiting abortion. In this case, the State Legislature approved a requirement that all physicians who perform abortions in the state must be OB-GYNs with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital. While the doctors employed by the clinic are OB-GYNs, they have not been able to secure admitting privileges with an area hospital, making the clinic in clear violation of the new law. The courts have intervened in the past when Mississippi lawmakers have tried to limit abortion rights. Most recently, in 2004, a district judge declared unconstitutional a law that would have banned virtually all abortions performed after the first trimester. If the clinic were forced to close, Mississippi would be the only state in the nation with no facility dedicated to providing abortions. There were 2,297 abortions performed in Mississippi in 2010, the last year for which data is listed on the Web site of the State Health Department. Nearly all of those were performed on state residents, and while the Web site does not specify where the abortions were performed, the clinic's operators said most were performed at their center, which is just north of Jackson, the state capital. Physicians who perform fewer than 10 abortions a month are not subjected to the same regulations as clinics. But there is no record of how many of those physicians there are in the state. If the clinic were closed, women would likely have to drive about 200 miles to one of Mississippi's neighboring states to get an abortion. When the suit challenging the law was filed last week, Mr. Bryant vowed to vigorously defend the measure, saying that "this basic requirement goes both to the heart of women's health care and protecting the lives of unborn children."