US: Mississippi's only abortion clinic closes as trigger law comes to force

The only abortion clinic is the US state of Mississippi has shut down as a "trigger law" has come into force following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that safeguarded women's reproductive rights.

In Mississippi, the state ban that has been triggered prohibits abortions at any point of a pregnancy, forcing the Jackson Women's Health to stop giving the procedure, the BBC reported.

On Wednesday, its last day of operations, pro-choice and anti-abortion clashed outside the clinic as it sought to see as many patients as possible before ending its services.

"It was crazy busy, for obvious reasons," Cheryl Hamlin, who worked at the clinic, told the BBC.

"It was definitely a full day, and it was emotional on the way out. Today is a little bit surreal. I don't even know how I'm feeling right now," she said.

The Mississippi "trigger law" was passed in 2007 and written to go into effect ten days after a Supreme Court reversal of Roe v Wade.

The law 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 or rape that has been reported to law enforcement.

The law was due to come into effect on Thursday, after a last-minute effort to block it failed.

Some 13 states, primarily in the south and mid-west, had similar laws designed to come into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned last month.

At least nine states have instituted a near-total ban, with the only exception being danger to the life of the mother.

--IANS

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