Mississippi’s ‘Pink House’ Turns Into Ground Zero In U.S. Abortion Battle

 

For eight years, Derenda Hancock has ushered girls from their motors to the doorways of Mississippi’s solely abortion clinic, donning a rainbow vest as she shields them from protesters waving spiritual pamphlets and shouting “turn back!” thru bullhorns.

Hancock, a 62-year-old part-time waitress, grew accustomed to repeated tries through lawmakers and anti-abortion activists to block get right of entry to to abortions at the Jackson Women's Health Organization where she leads the clinic's volunteer escorts.

But the future of that get entry to feels threatened like by no means earlier than after the U.S. Supreme Court thrust the clinic's noisy town block into the core of the country's contentious debate over abortion rights.

The court docket on Monday agreed to assessment Mississippi’s bid to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a Republican-backed measure enacted in direct task to the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

The court's new 6-3 conservative majority, which is no longer predicted to rule on the case till subsequent year, should determine to weaken or overturn that ruling, which mounted a woman's proper to terminate a pregnancy earlier than the fetus is viable, typically between 24 and 28 weeks.

The Jackson Women's Health Organization, recognized regionally as the "Pink House" due to the fact of its bubble gum-colored paint, is named in the case.

"Our little case here, the entirety hangs on it,” stated Hancock, tears forming beneath her lavender eye shadow as she talked about patients, some who pressure thousands of miles and scrape collectively the $150 wished for an preliminary appointment.

"If they do overturn Roe, we’re done," she said. "I be aware of in my coronary heart this is the large enchilada."