Story
The Give-a-Damn Party
I used to assume that the religious right was only concerned about abortion and gay marriage, but one of the things that has crossed my mind over the past few …
Story
Personhood
OPINION: Jay Hughes and the Apostasy of ‘White Democrats’ in Mississippi
Not content with the number of obstacles currently in a pregnant woman's path to accessing safe abortion care, our state government has continued its efforts to erode Roe v. Wade. …
Story
National
Abortion Rights Could be Litmus Test for High Court Nominee
Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a key vote on President Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, said Sunday she would oppose any nominee she believed would overturn the landmark Roe …
Story
Obama AG Nominee Loretta Lynch Heads for Vote After 5 Months
President Barack Obama's long-stalled nominee for attorney general, federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch, is on her way to a confirmation vote after senators extricated themselves Tuesday from a partisan dispute over …
Document
Informed Consent Materials for Abortion (Dept. of Health)
Informed Consent Materials for Abortion (Dept. of Health)
Story
City & County
'Almost Social Terrorism': Abortion Clinic Protests Hurt Their Business, Owners Say
Clinic workers, as well as Fondren residents and business owners urged the Jackson City Council to pass an ordinance that would limit some of the protesters' activities outside Mississippi's only …
Document
Federal Abortion Clinic Lawsuit
A federal lawsuit to keep Mississippi's abortion clinic open.
Story
Miss. to Appeal Injunction in Abortion Clinic Case
Mississippi will ask a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling that has temporarily blocked authorities from closing the state's only abortion clinic.
Document
Medicaid Reimbursement for Nontherapeutic Abortions (House Version of SB2238)
Medicaid Reimbursement for Nontherapeutic Abortions (House Version of SB2238)
Document
Kansas Court Ruling Overturning Dismemberment Abortion Ban
Kansas Supreme Court Ruling, Overturning Dismemberment Abortion Ban
Document
Mississippi Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act
Mississippi Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act
Document
MS Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act
MS Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act
Entry
Personhood is Back
By AnnaWolfeA previously failed proposal that aims to abolish abortion has resurfaced this legislative session.
State Rep. Randy Boyd, R-Mantachie, introduced a so-called Personhood bill in the form House Bill 1309, which would amend the state constitution to define a person as beginning at the moment of conception.
Boyd's bill number is reminiscent of a bill passed in 2012, House Bill 1390, which required physicians at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges to nearby hospitals.
Critics of Boyd's bill point to the failure to achieve a Personhood law through a statewide ballot initiative in 2011. During that drive, a proposed Personhood amendment to the state constitution failed to garner enough votes to become law. Later, in 2013, a group attempted to get the measure back on the ballot but missed a key deadline. Subsequent Personhood bills in the Legislature have also failed to gain traction.
Personhood has gained national attention not only because it would outlaw abortion in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, but because of the law's unintended consequences. Because such a law would also define a fertilized egg as a person, it could bring to question the legality of birth control pills, Plan B, and some methods of in-vitro fertilization, reproductive-justice advocates say.
The 2012 Mississippi admitting privileges law would have closed the last abortion clinic in the state, Jackson Women's Health Organization, because nearby hospitals refused to grant privileges to them. But the clinic fought the law, which resulted in a U.S. District Court striking it down. A federal appeals court upheld the decision and Mississippi's attorneys have not announced whether the state would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Feature
Abortion and Reproductive Rights in Mississippi
A collection of stories on reproductive rights in the state and Mississippi's only abortion clinic.
Story
Lawmakers, Activists Speak Against Abortion
Lawmakers and abortion opponents came together at the Capitol yesterday to support anti-abortion efforts, making their way through various committees in the Mississippi Legislature.
Story
3 Murder Charges Against Pa. Abortion Doc Tossed
A judge tossed three of eight murder charges Tuesday in the high-profile trial of an abortion doctor accused of killing babies prosecutors say were born alive at a clinic they …
Document
Anti-Abortion Activists File Lawsuit Against Jackson Buffer Law
Anti-Abortion Activists File Lawsuit Against Jackson Buffer Law
Story
Immigrants, Medicaid and Abortion
The House took up a controversial bill demanding that state and local law-enforcement officials request proof of residency status from civilians they suspect are undocumented immigrants. The version of Senate …
