Our Abortion Jurisprudence Is Terrible

Mississippi governor Phil Bryant signed a bill last March proscribing abortion after doctors could detect an unborn child’s heartbeat. The usual canticle of pro-choice outrage ensued and led to a protracted legal battle between two abortion providers and the state’s medical officials. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down its per curiam ruling this morning.

The appellate court relied upon its holding in a 2018 case, weighing the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that banned most abortions after 15 weeks’ gestational age. Since the Fifth Circuit held that the...