JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s only abortion clinic is awaiting word from the state Department of Health on whether it will be licensed to perform the procedure after the first trimester.

In the meantime, Jackson Women’s Health Organization has ceased performing abortions beyond the first trimester and has been sending those patients to facilities in other states.

State law requires abortion clinic’s to meet the standards of an ambulatory surgery center and requires its doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals — something JWHO’s two out-of-state doctors don’t have.

‘‘I think there’s a good chance there’s going to be an issue … that would have to be litigated,’’ said Susan Hill, president of National Women’s Health Organization and operator of the Jackson clinic.

Hill said moving abortions that are beyond the first trimester out of state has not resulted in fewer abortions, but more women who are less likely to receive the post-abortion care they need, especially if they are reluctant to divulge their situation to a new doctor.

‘‘The closer a woman can be to a clinic, the better her aftercare usually is,’’ Hill said.

Since the clinic scaled back its practice in mid-February, Hill estimates it has referred 25 women to Alabama for abortions. The women in those later stages of pregnancy tend to be young and poor, she said, and the trip tends to take a heavier toll.

‘‘It’s a tremendous burden on them because they have to drive another four hours at least, but they’ve been getting there,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s not stopping them, it’s just making it much more difficult.’’

Hill said the clinic meets most of the criteria already, including physical layout standards such as the required width of hallways. In other areas, including the local admitting privileges and the nurse-to-patient ratio, the clinic is asking for waivers, she said.

The clinic has gone through an intense daylong inspection, during which four inspectors reviewed the clinic’s policies, paperwork, and physical structure. The state Department of Health is processing the clinic’s application.

‘‘The Mississippi Department of Health has conducted a licensure survey,’’ Danny Miller, the department’s deputy director and chief of staff, said in a written response. ‘‘The Women’s Health Organization has submitted a plan to correct deficiencies cited during the survey. An unannounced follow-up survey will be conducted to confirm the facility’s compliance with state regulations.’’

Miller said the clinic submitted a plan of correction, stating that, ‘‘physicians without local privileges are in the process of making application at the present time.’’

For the admitting privileges requirement, the clinic is hoping proof of emergency backup arrangements will suffice. The clinic’s two doctors who perform abortions are from Georgia and North Carolina and would not be able to get privileges, Hill said.

‘‘We knew that they had filed for certification, and we were waiting to see if they could pass inspection,’’ said Pro-Life Mississippi President Terri Herring.

The group welcomes a court battle.

‘‘We would depend upon the attorney general to defend the law in court. Without local admitting privileges, what happens is those women who are injured go straight to University (of Mississippi) Medical Center … The taxpayers end up picking up the tab when women are injured,’’ Herring said.

Herring doubts whether all women in their second trimester are actually choosing to go out of state instead of deciding to give birth, saying that such a restriction is bound to affect the tide of decisions.

The law says the clinic must meet the standards of an ambulatory surgery center, but once it comes into compliance with those standards, it is still labeled an abortion clinic. An abortion clinic is more limited in what it can perform, Hill said, and cannot, for instance, offer tubal ligation to women as the Jackson clinic would like to do.