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Supreme Court Blocks Implementation of Mississippi and Wisconsin Abortion Restrictions

The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away requests from attorneys in Wisconsin and Mississippi to overturn decisions blocking abortion restrictions nearly identical to those ruled unconstitutional by the Court on Monday.

Jackson Women's Health Organization in Jackson, Mississippi. ABC News / YouTube

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away challenges from Wisconsin and Mississippi that sought to implement anti-abortion restrictions similar to the ones rejected by the Court as unconstitutional the day before in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.

The one-line orders refused to hear challenges to 2013 federal appeals court decisions that had blocked the Wisconsin and Mississippi measures from taking effect. Those requirements, like the ones in Texas, would have included ones forcing doctors providing abortions in the state to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

The restrictions threatened to close the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi.

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, praised the development in a statement. “Whether in Mississippi, Texas, or any other state across the U.S., politicians cannot insert their personal beliefs into a woman’s decision whether to continue or end a pregnancy,” Northup said. “We are confident that courts across the country will continue to affirm that politicians cannot pass laws attacking women’s access to safe, legal abortion.”

The Supreme Court had been sitting on a request from the State of Mississippi since February 2015 to overturn the federal appeals court decision preventing its requirements from taking effect.

Tuesday’s order effectively ends the legal fight in those states over admitting privileges for abortion doctors and providers.