Reeves of the Jackson Federal District Court.

HB 1510 was swiftly challenged by Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the sole abortion provider in Mississippi, and received a permanent injunction order by Judge Carlton W. Citing the state’s “legitimate interest” in protecting and preserving potential life, the law went on to describe how recent developments in science had made it possible to determine fetal heartbeat and pain as early as within five to six weeks of pregnancy and that by 15 weeks, most abortions involved dilation and evacuation procedures- which the state of Mississippi deemed “barbaric”- hence, 15 weeks was set as the cut off point for abortions. Signed into law by Republican Governor Phil Bryant, the Act banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions to protect the life of the mother and in cases of foetal abnormality only (however, the law made no exceptions for rape or incest). Also called House Bill (HB) 1510, it was, at that time, one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the United States. In March 2018, the overwhelmingly Republican state legislature of Mississippi passed the Gestational Age Act.