Almost every hospital has responded, and all are saying "no."

Protesters outside the clinic. Photo: Rogelio V. Solis/The Associated Press via The Times Picune.

When Judge Daniel P. Jordan III allowed Mississippi’s TRAP law went into effect, he also ruled that doctors practicing at Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the state’s sole public clinic providing abortions, would not incur penalties while they sought admitting privileges at local hospitals.

Now, after a few months of trying, no one is surprised to learn that no hospital is interested in granting them.

Via The Center for Reproductive Rights:

What more time has revealed is exactly what Mississippi’s anti-choice lawmakers expected: securing admitting privileges from Jackson, Mississippi is proving to be a near insurmountable task. Sex. Abortion. Parenthood. Power. The latest news, delivered straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE To date, the clinic has applied for admitting privileges at all of the hospitals in the surrounding counties. The majority has rejected the requests citing administrative issues (never a doctor’s qualifications) while the remaining three have not yet made a decision. The hospitals are openly refusing to grant privileges because they are concerned about their business relationships. Take this response from one hospital: “The nature of your proposed medical practice… would lead to both an internal and external disruption of the Hospital’s function and business within this community.”

The clinic has already hired additional help just to try to complete and track the onerous paperwork required to seek out the privileges. With only three hospitals left as possibilities, JWHO’s time may soon run out. That result could be dire for the women of Mississippi.