Mississippi Judge Blocks Abortion Ban, Slams ‘Controlling’ Male Lawmakers

A federal judge has blocked a Mississippi state law that sought to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, issuing his judgment alongside a stinging rebuke of “controlling” male lawmakers who “gaslight” the public into believing they care about women’s health. The proposed law made exceptions for medical emergencies or cases in which there’s a “severe fetal abnormality,” but there were no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Judge Carlton Reeves, district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, said the law “unequivocally” infringed upon a woman’s 14th Amendment due-process rights and defies Supreme Court precedents. He called the legislature’s supposed interest in women’s health “pure gaslighting,” saying: “Its leaders... choose not to lift a finger to address the tragedies lurking on the other side of the delivery room, such as high infant and maternal mortality rates... No, legislation like [the abortion ban] is closer to the old Mississippi—the Mississippi bent on controlling women and minorities.”