Judge keeps injunction against Miss. abortion law in place

A federal judge continued to block a Mississippi law that could close the state's last abortion clinic, while he considers more evidence.

The New York Times: Judge Maintains Injunction Against Mississippi Law On Abortion Clinics
Lawyers debated before a federal judge on Wednesday whether a new law governing abortion clinics in Mississippi should remain blocked or go into effect and thus set in motion a process that could lead to the closing of the state's lone abortion clinic (Robertson, 7/11).

The Associated Press: Judge Continues To Block Mississippi Abortion Law
A federal judge on Wednesday continued to block a state law that threatens to shut down Mississippi's only abortion clinic and make it nearly impossible for women to get the procedure in the state. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III temporarily blocked the law July 1 and extended that order Wednesday, though he did not say when he would rule on the clinic's request for a preliminary injunction that would put the law on hold for a longer period. If he grants that request, the case eventually would go to trial (Pettus, 7/12).

Bloomberg: 'Abortion Queen' in Last-Ditch Battle to Save Mississippi Clinic
Diane Derzis carries a Taser, a Smith and Wesson and a nickname: "abortion queen." "It doesn't in any way injure my self-confidence," said Derzis, who owns Mississippi's last abortion clinic and three others in the U.S. South. "I kind of like being the queen."… Derzis, 58, and her lawyers are trying to prevent the state from becoming the first with no abortion clinic, and argued in U.S. District Court yesterday that the requirement is unconstitutional because it will effectively ban the procedure (Deprez, 7/12).

Reuters: Judge Extends Halt To New Mississippi Abortion Law
A federal judge on Wednesday extended a temporary restraining order blocking Mississippi from enforcing a new state law that tightens requirements on abortion clinics, saying he wanted time to review how the law will be applied. The new law, which took effect on July 1, has threatened to close the state's last abortion clinic and make Mississippi the only U.S. state without such a facility (Le Coz, 7/11).

Unplanned pregnancies in Texas and Planned Parenthoods in Kansas and Iowa make news --

Texas Tribune: (VIDEO) The Price Of Unplanned Pregnancies In Texas
What happens when family planning is out of reach for poor and uninsured Texans? In the final segment of our Fertile Ground series, we explore the costs to communities and taxpayers of the state's high rate of unplanned pregnancies (Tan, 7/12).

AP/Kansas City Star: New Problem Arises In Johnson County's Planned Parenthood Case
Johnson County's top prosecutor acknowledged in court Wednesday that he's facing a new problem in pursuing a criminal case against a Planned Parenthood clinic in the Kansas City area. District Attorney Steve Howe said his office is trying to replace an expert witness retained to support 58 misdemeanor criminal charges alleging that the clinic in Overland Park performed illegal abortions in 2003. Howe said the witness, an out-of-state physician and medical school professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is too ill to serve as a witness (Hanna, 6/11).

Des Moines Register: Planned Parenthood Reiterates Opposition To Proposed Rule Change On State Funding For Abortion
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland on Wednesday again argued that a proposed rule change barring state government-paid abortions would violate federal law and endanger millions or even billions in funding for medical care. The comments from the family-planning organization came during a meeting this morning of the Council on Human Services, the board within the Iowa Department of Human Services that will decide whether to take action on a petition for the rule change filed by Republican lawmakers (Noble, 7/11).