JACKSON, Miss. — A young woman entered the parking lot of the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, her shoulders hunched. An older woman accompanied her, as was a young man carrying a gun on his hip. She seemed terrified.
The noise was deafening all around them. It was Saturday morning and there was a man with a powerful PA. It was Saturday morning and a man with a powerful P.A. was preaching about Jezebel getting eaten by dogs. Dozens upon dozens of evangelical Christians had arrived to pray. Volunteer clinic escorts, sweating in the summer heat, directed patients’ cars through the throng and blasted music they thought the evangelicals would hate: At the moment, it was the cheeky alt-rock song “Stacy’s Mom.” Posters of aborted fetuses lined the street.
Doug Lane, a pastor, sat down beside the older woman and encouraged the latter to refuse to undergo the procedure. “I wanted her to have the baby,” the woman said, her voice unsteady.
Soon all of this — the preaching, the frightened patients, the rock music, the bloody posters — will disappear. But before it does, there are guaranteed to be a few more days of roaring, passionate crescendo, as the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the pink-painted clinic at the heart of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, tries to see as many patients as possible before it is forced to close.
There is already much talk of what the future holds. Outside the clinic, abortion opponents discussed how their churches might do a better job spreading the message of abstinence in a state with the nation’s highest teen pregnancy rate. Supporters of abortion access, meanwhile, are working to create a network of donors, volunteers, educators and even pilots to help women in the nation’s poorest state travel to places where the procedure will remain legal. Similar efforts are underway in many other states, including those where abortion is now prohibited and those who want to provide care for women from out-of-state.
“Abortion is our business, and that’s what we’re going to do — to make sure women have access,” said Diane Derzis, the owner of the Jackson clinic. “We’re not going away.”
Abortion bans have already gone into effect in nine states since Friday’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, with at least 12 more bans or restrictions, including in Mississippi, expected to take effect soon. Though it was a Mississippi law that sought to restrict abortion at 15 weeks that was at issue in Dobbs, the state also has a so-called trigger law, passed in 2007, that fully bans abortion, except in cases of rape or risk to the mother’s life.
The law can’t take effect until 10 days after the state’s attorney general, Lynn Fitch, certifies the Supreme Court decision. Sunday,,Ms. Fitch didn’t appear to have done this yet, though there is no doubt that she will. Ms. Fitch, who is a Republican, filed the Supreme Court brief in defense of Mississippi abortion restrictions. hailed the decision as “a victory, not only for women and children, but for the court itself.”
The battle for the pink clinic continued as it has been for many years. The protesters have long been a fixture in Jackson’s Fondren neighborhood, coexisting uneasily among its hip shops and cafes. They have been the subject city council ordinances, police consent decrees, and incessant complaints from business owner. They are just one of many complications that have made it extremely difficult to operate the Mississippi only abortion clinic.
The intimidation factor, the social climate and numerous legal hurdles — including a requirement that abortion providers give scientifically dubious health warnings to women — have forced the clinic to turn to a rotation of out-of-state doctors who have flown in and out of Jackson for years.
On Saturday, Mr. Lane, the pastor, said it was “galling” that the clinic was continuing to see clients Even After the Supreme Court ruling. He was not in the mood celebrate Roe’s fall. Instead, he stated that he would protest Roe’s fall the same way he has since the 1990s.
“This is going to be the hardest nine days of my life,” said Mr. Lane, who, like others, erroneously assumed that the clock had already begun ticking for the clinic. “Because they shouldn’t be doing abortions. All these other states closed their clinics down.”
Ms. Derzis (who lives in Birmingham, Ala. and owns a few abortion clinics) visited the Jackson clinic on the previous day and held a defiant news conference outside, with her face partially covered by big Jackie Onassis sunglasses. She spoke about a new clinic she opened in Las Cruces (N.M.), approximately 1,100 miles away. She also discussed fund-raising efforts to help Mississippi women travel to New Mexico and other countries where abortion will be legal.
“The fact that we’re not here doesn’t mean that we’re not going to see Mississippi women, and whoever needs us,” she said.
Ms. Derzis (68), stated that she had an unplanned abortion in 1973 at 20 in Birmingham while she was a student and living with her first husband. A year later, she went to work at a Birmingham women’s clinic. Owning and operating such clinics, she said, has been her “dream job,” offering her the chance to help women in need. Amid the criticisms she has faced over the years, she said that she felt the need to obtain a law-related degree at one time.
Ms. Derzis indicated that she would keep the Jackson clinic’s phone number and may transfer calls to the New Mexico facility.
Cheryl Hamlin from Massachusetts, a doctor, has been flying to Jackson to work. She said in an interview she was working on getting a New Mexico license so that she could fly there for work. She was also researching ways that Mississippi women might be able to obtain abortion pills “online or in the mail or whatever.”
Dr. Hamlin stated that she was encouraged by the renewed enthusiasm for fund-raising to support women’s travel. She was concerned that it might not be a long-term solution.
“You know, that goes away,” she said.
Friday’s address will be given by Ms. Fitch (the attorney general). posted a tweet saying that after the decision, government should strive to pass “laws that empower women,” including an overhaul of child support, child care and workplace policies.
That same day, the three dissenting justices in the Dobbs case — Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — enumerated the many ways in which Mississippi has fallen short, with the highest infant mortality rate in the country, and some of the highest rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, cesarean section and maternal death. They noted that while 62 percent of Mississippi pregnancies are unplanned, “Mississippi does not require insurance to cover contraceptives and prohibits educators from demonstrating proper contraceptive use.”
In recent years, Republican lawmakers in firm control of the state have declined to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a major reason critics say the state’s health outcomes are so poor. However, Governor Tate Reeves signed a law granting tax credits to supporters of “pregnancy resource centers,” which are usually aligned with faith groups and counsel women against having abortions. Terri Herring, president, of Choose Life Mississippi, was optimistic about the potential for strengthened centers to help poor women navigate the post-Roe landscape.
“These pregnancy resource centers are going to provide that compassionate person to lead these people through their pregnancies,” she said. “A lot of women just need to know how to access what is already available to them.”
The frustration of the clinic staff was evident as the temperature rose towards 100 degrees on Saturday. The street was narrow and the escorts tried to protect the patients from the protestors as much as possible. They also made sure that no pedestrians were hurt.
Dale Gibson (53), a merchant sailor, began cursing at Zach Boyd who was holding a small rubber baby doll.
Mr. Boyd had moved Mr. Gibson’s folding camp chair. Mr. Gibson objected to the move and accused Mr. Boyd of trespassing, as he stood at the clinic’s border. An armed security officer intervened and tried to cool the temperature.
Mr. Gibson stated that he was tired of Mississippi and had decided to move to California with Kim Gibson (his wife and fellow escort). “We’re living in a theocracy, OK?” Mr. Gibson said, adding, “If they think it’s going to end with abortion, people are kidding themselves.”
Ms. Derzis reported that the day was extremely busy, with 35 abortions being performed and 25 counseling sessions available for women who are planning to have the procedure in the near future.
Ms. Gibson was exhausted and sweaty as the last patients arrived. Madison Gass (21), an anti-abortion activist, asked Ms.. Gibson if she wanted a water bottle.
“All I want,” Ms. Gibson said, “is for y’all to vamoose.”
Mr. Boyd heard her. “We will in nine days,” he said. “Praise the Lord.”
Source: NY Times