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Mississippi's Threat to Roe v. Wade

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As Salon's Irin Carmon reports, a Republican appointed district-court judge has prevented a new statute that would force the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi to close. (The new law was necessary because, despite the best efforts of past Mississippi legislatures, one lone clinic in Jackson has managed to heroically persevere through a maze of state restrictions.) The stay is temporary, and the issue will presumably have to be resolved by a higher appellate court, possibly ending with the Supreme Court of the United States.

Kagan on Abortion.

With no judicial record to review, it's hard to see how Elana Kagan would rule on any number of issues were she to be confirmed. The confirmation process won't help, because we all know how reluctant nominees are to say anything that might be construed as an opinion. But neither does the memo she wrote urging President Bill Clinton to ban late-term abortions, reported on by the Associated Press.