Jackson Free Press

Hood Running for 4th Term as Mississippi Attorney General

Jim Hood filed papers Friday to run for a fourth term as Mississippi attorney general, saying he considered retiring and going into private law practice but still has things he …

Target: Abortion Rights, Public Ed, LGBT Custody

Women's rights and public education topped the Mississippi legislative agenda as it rolled past the Jan. 19 deadline for filing bills and into the fourth week of the session, while …

Personhood Resolution in House

As the window for introducing bills in the Mississippi Legislature closes, the personhood debate has once again surfaced.

Lifers and Choicers Agree: JPD Sucked

Demonstrators on both sides of the abortion debate recently forced the city of Jackson to address the right to protest in public. Though the state of Mississippi made history earlier …

Lawmakers Laser in on Finances

Legislatively speaking, it was a bad week for Mississippi conservatives and the state's top Republican leadership, all of whom were ardent supporters of measures to toughen state immigration laws, limit …

Confusion and Clarity On Islam

The past week has seen rallies, protests, outraged individuals who oppose abortions and those who believe that a woman's choice about her womb should be her own. Within the often-heated …

Koop, Who Transformed Surgeon General Post, Dies

With his striking beard and starched uniform, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop became one of the most recognizable figures of the Reagan era—and one of the most unexpectedly …

Mississippi U.S. Reps Face Challenges from the Left and the Right in 2020

A University of Mississippi law professor and self-described "Democratic socialist" is challenging her district's U.S. House representative, Republican Trent Kelly, in this year's election.

Rally Protests Contraceptive Rule

American and Christian flags stood on equal footing in front of the U.S. Courthouse in Jackson Friday as about 60 people gathered to protest a rule that requires health-insurance plans …

Civil Anarchy

Monica Baldwin, a member of Pro-Life Mississippi, an anti-abortion organization, sued the city on July 15 for its anti-noise ordinance that was stopping her organization from using a keyboard to …

Mississippi Senate to Vote on Abortion Ban

I've just received word that the Mississippi Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare has approved SB 2795, an outright ban on abortion. The bill will most likely go before …

In the U.S. Senate Race, Vote Against Everybody

California is currently considering Proposition 85, a bill that would require any teenage girl living in an abusive household to confront her abusive parents before having an abortion--even if her …

Redefining Pregnancy

You're a woman who has been raped, and you're terrified that your rapist made you pregnant. You ask your doctor for emergency contraception, but she refuses to give it to …

Another reading assignment

[Head] Men: Hold Creeps Accountable

I think we men, myself included, have not done enough to confront other men. We have let too much slide.

10 Local Stories of the Week

The first week of July was a busy news week in the Jackson area. Here's the recap and a whole bunch of PDFs to read.

JFP Sunday Report: 10 Local Stories of the Week

It was an enterprising news week at the Jackson Free Press. Here are 10 local stories you shouldn't miss.

Activist Behind Planned Parenthood Video Offered Probation

An anti-abortion activist's plan to reject a plea deal offering probation for charges related to making undercover Planned Parenthood videos likely means his goal is to use a trial as …

GOP Rep. Nunnelee Dies After Brain Cancer, Stroke

U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee of Mississippi, a fiscal and social conservative elected to Congress in a Republican wave of 2010, died Friday. He was 56.

Personhood Redux

Just three months after voters turned down a Personhood Initiative, at least one legislator is trying to get it back on the ballot.