Mississippi Governor Indicates He Will Sign 15-week Abortion Ban

[Swordsmyth]

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has indicated he will sign a bill passed by both houses of the state legislature that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
“As I have repeatedly said, I want Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child,” Bryant said Tuesday on Twitter. “House Bill 1510 will help us achieve that goal.”
State House Bill 1510 originally passed the Mississippi House on February 2 by a 79-30 vote. A version of the bill amended by the state Senate was then passed 75-34 on March 8. The bill would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks, but it does allow an exception when there are risks to the life or physical health of the mother, or fatal fetal anomalies.
State Representative Andy Gipson, chairman of the state House Judiciary B Committee, said the legislators wanted to protect women’s health by prohibiting later-term abortions, which are riskier to women.
“The risk to the mother is the prime driver in this bill,” Gipson said. “I think the Supreme Court has recognized that the states have an interest in protecting human life.”
Senators voted 35-14 on March 6 to pass House Bill 1510. The Senate amended the bill to remove possible felony charges for abortionists who violate the 15-week ban, although those who do abortions after that limit would have their professional medical licenses suspended or revoked.

More at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/item/28463-mississippi-governor-indicates-he-will-sign-15-week-abortion-ban

[Swordsmyth]

Bryant has now signed a law that makes his state the most difficult state in the country to get an abortion. It is called the Gestational Age Act, and it bans abortions after 15 weeks of gestation, except in the case of a medical emergency or a severe fetal abnormality. The law does not make exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The Mississippi House passed the measure on March 8, and Bryant signed it into law on Monday.

More at: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/19/595045249/mississippi-governor-signs-nations-toughest-abortion-ban-into-law

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abortion-ban-mississippi-lawyers-debate-new-law/


Federal judge temporarily blocks Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban


JACKSON, Miss. -- A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a new Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks' gestation -- the most restrictive abortion law in the United States. The law took effect as soon as Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed it Monday.

The state's only abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, quickly sued the state, arguing the law is unconstitutional because it bans abortion weeks before a fetus can survive outside the womb.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves heard arguments Tuesday before granting the clinic's immediate request for a temporary restraining order that would block the law during the legal fight.

"The Supreme Court says every woman has a constitutional right to 'personal privacy' regarding her body," Reeves wrote in a brief decision that quoted previous legal rulings on abortion. "That right protects her choice 'to have an abortion before viability.' States cannot 'prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision' to do so."

Reeves said in court that the "ultimate question" is whether a state can ban abortion before viability. He asked: "Does the state have the right to trump the woman's right to have control over her decisions, over her body?"

Reeves did not rule from the bench but granted the temporary restraining order about an hour later, noting that lawyers for the clinic said a woman who is at least 15 weeks pregnant was scheduled to have an abortion Tuesday afternoon.

One of those lawyers, Rob McDuff, said the woman's next available appointment would be March 28 because physicians travel from out of state to work there. He said the clinic does not perform abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy, and March 28 would put her beyond that.

The law and responding challenge set up a confrontation sought by abortion opponents, who are hoping federal courts will ultimately prohibit abortions before a fetus is viable. Current federal law does not.

Some legal experts have said a change in the law is unlikely unless the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court changes in a way that favors abortion opponents.

Dr. Sacheen Carr-Ellis, medical director of Jackson Women's Health Organization, argues in the lawsuit that viability varies from pregnancy to pregnancy depending on the health of the mother and the fetus, but that "no fetus is viable after 15 weeks of pregnancy."


more at link.