Jackson Women's Health Org. v. Currier

320 F. Supp. 3d 828
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedMarch 15, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 3:12-CV-436-DPJ-FKB
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 320 F. Supp. 3d 828 (Jackson Women's Health Org. v. Currier) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jackson Women's Health Org. v. Currier, 320 F. Supp. 3d 828 (S.D. Miss. 2018).

Opinion

Daniel P. Jordan III, CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Plaintiffs seek an order declaring the ob-gyn requirement of House Bill 1390 facially unconstitutional and clarifying that the Court's previous Order [190] enjoins that law's admitting-privileges requirement statewide, not only as applied to Plaintiffs. They have thus moved to clarify [192] and for judgment [197]. For their part, Defendants moved [199] to exclude certain opinions from Plaintiffs' expert witnesses.

For the reasons that follow, the Court grants Plaintiffs' Motion to Clarify [192] and will modify its injunction to reflect that House Bill 1390's admitting-privileges requirement is enjoined statewide, but it denies Plaintiffs' request [197] for an order declaring the ob-gyn requirement facially unconstitutional. To make that claim, Plaintiffs must show that the law creates a substantial obstacle to the right to choose for a large fraction of women for whom the law is relevant. Yet since the law was enacted, the number of abortions Plaintiffs perform has increased by 17%.

I. Background and Procedural History

In April 2012, the Mississippi Legislature passed House Bill 1390 ("HB 1390" or "the Act"), which required that all physicians associated with an abortion facility "have admitting privileges at a local hospital" and "be board certified or eligible in obstetrics and gynecology." Miss. Code Ann. § 41-75-1(f). On June 27, 2012, Plaintiffs Jackson Women's Health Organization ("JWHO"), Mississippi's sole abortion provider, and Dr. Willie Parker, one of its physicians, filed this lawsuit against the *833state and local officials tasked with enforcing the Act, seeking to declare both the admitting-privileges and ob-gyn requirements unconstitutional.

Starting with the admitting-privileges requirement, the Court first issued a preliminary injunction [81] blocking the provision because it would likely create an undue burden on women seeking an abortion. The Fifth Circuit affirmed that Order as modified [157], and Plaintiffs asked the Court to convert it to a permanent injunction. Pls.' Mot. [180]. The Court granted that motion on March 17, 2017, ordering: "Defendants are permanently enjoined from any and all forms of enforcement of the admitting privileges requirement of H.B. 1390 against Plaintiffs." Order [190]. Plaintiffs thereafter filed their Motion to Clarify, Modify, or Amend [that] Order to Ensure Declaratory and Statewide Relief [192]. Defendants never responded, and the time to do so has long since expired.

Plaintiffs now turn their attention to the Act's ob-gyn requirement, presenting a facial attack to its constitutionality. Pls.' Mot. [197] (seeking summary judgment). Defendants defend the requirement and ask the Court to exclude some of the testimony offered by Plaintiffs' experts. Defs.' Mot. [199]. These motions were discussed in two telephonic conferences with the Court, during which the parties agreed to convert Plaintiffs' summary-judgment motion into one for a permanent injunction. This allows the Court to weigh the evidence and decide the merits based on the record before it.

II. Analysis

A. Motion to Clarify-Admitting-Privileges Requirement

On February 16, 2017, Plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment on the admitting-privileges requirement. In that motion, Plaintiffs asked the Court to "permanently enjoin Defendants from enforcing the requirement statewide." Pls.' Mot. [180] at 1. The entirety of Defendants' substantive response was as follows:

Although the State disagrees with the analysis and conclusions of the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in [ Whole Woman's Health v.] Hellerstedt , [--- U.S. ----, 136 S.Ct. 2292, 195 L.Ed.2d 665 (2016),] Defendants cannot identify any meaningful distinction between the Texas admitting privileges law struck down in Hellerstedt and the admitting privileges requirement of H.B. 1390. Defendants further acknowledge that the Hellerstedt opinion is binding on both this Court and the Fifth Circuit unless and until that decision is modified, overturned, or vacated. Whether Hellerstedt will stand the test of time is uncertain, but at this time that opinion is controlling authority. Defendants do not confess, concede, or admit any statements, allegations, assertions, arguments, or representations contained in Plaintiff[s'] motion or memorandum except to the extent explicitly stated herein concerning the admitting privileges requirement only.
In conclusion, Defendants respectfully submit that it is appropriate for the Court to analyze the current evidentiary record in light of Hellerstedt and the Fifth Circuit's prior decision in this case, and enter an order consistent with those rulings.

Defs.' Resp. [189] at 2. So on March 17, 2017, the Court entered an order granting Plaintiffs' motion and permanently enjoining the admitting-privileges requirement of the Act "against Plaintiffs." Order [190]. At the time, the Court did not appreciate that Plaintiffs sought facial invalidation of the admitting-privileges requirement.

*834Plaintiffs now ask the Court to amend its Order to "include declaratory and statewide relief." Pls.' Mem. [193] at 1. They argue that "because the admitting privileges requirement in H.B. 1390 ... imposes barriers on access to abortion in Mississippi without furthering any valid state interest, the Court should find it unconstitutional on its face and enter declaratory and statewide relief" under Hellerstedt. Id. at 4. Defendants offered no objection, and the motion appears consistent with the facts. Plaintiffs' motion to clarify [192] is granted.

B. Daubert Motion1

Before addressing the merits of Plaintiffs' claim as to the ob-gyn requirement, the Court must first consider Defendants' Daubert motion and the admissibility of Plaintiffs' experts' testimony. The admission of expert testimony is governed by Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which provides:

A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if:
(a) the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue;
(b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data;
(c) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and
(d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case.

The rule "requires trial courts to ensure that proffered expert testimony is 'not only relevant, but reliable.' " In re Tex.

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Bluebook (online)
320 F. Supp. 3d 828, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-womens-health-org-v-currier-mssd-2018.