Judge notes 'sad irony' of men deciding abortion rights as he strikes Mississippi's abortion law

By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
Updated 1550 GMT (2350 HKT) November 21, 2018

(CNN) — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a Mississippi state law that sought to forbid most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, writing a sharply worded opinion with implications for states weighing similar measures.

Gov. Phil Bryant signed H.B. 1510, also known as the Gestational Age Act, in March, pledging his "commitment to making Mississippi the safest place in America for an unborn child."

The law made exceptions only for medical emergencies or cases in which there's a "severe fetal abnormality." There were no exceptions for incidents of rape or incest.

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"The state chose to pass a law it knew was unconstitutional to endorse a decadeslong campaign, fueled by national interest groups, to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade," Reeves wrote. "This court follows the commands of the Supreme Court and the dictates of the United States Constitution, rather than the disingenuous calculations of the Mississippi Legislature."

Furthermore, he called the Legislature's professed interest in women's health "pure gaslighting," pointing to evidence of the state's high infant and maternal mortality rates.

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