US state’s lone abortion clinic at heart of Roe v. Wade case shuts down

Mississippi state’s lone abortionclinic, which was at the heart of the Roe v. Wade ruling being overturned, has shut down permanently as the trigger law takes effect in the US state.

On Wednesday, Jackson Women's Health Organisation, which is called the Pink House because of the building's colourful walls, performed the last abortion as demonstrators maintained a strict vigil outside the premises. Some pro-life agitators even stopped patients from entering the clinic in its final hours of operation.

"Today is a hard day for all of us @ the last abortion provider in Mississippi,” The Pink House Fund, which raised donations to keep the institution running, posted on Twitter.

"It is our last day fighting against all the odds —of being there when no other providers would or could. We are proud of the work we have done here."

The Clinic operators’ last hope of remaining open was hot down on Tuesday when a special judge denied a motion for a temporary injunction to block the law from taking effect.

A spokesperson for the Center for Reproductive Rights said since the state's trigger law takes effect on Thursday, the clinic will stop providing its abortion services by midnight, according to local reports.

The clinic operators earlier indicated that they have plans to shift the operation to New Mexico—which has no major restrictions in place to access abortions.

Jackson Women's Health came to the light after having triggered the legal process that eventually led to the US Supreme Court's June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had enshrined the nationwide right to abortion in the United States.

The clinic had filed a lawsuit against a Mississippi law that would restrict abortion to 15 weeks.

Mississippi's law, passed in 2007, carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison for violations, and provides exceptions only in cases of danger to the life of the mother -- but not for rape or incest.

The Pink House had asked local courts to block the law, but they refused, leaving the clinic with no choice but to close.

(With inputs from agencies)

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