In November, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to review a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. Originally passed by the Mississippi Legislature in 2018 and signed into law by then-Governor Phil Bryant, the law was blocked by a federal judge and attempts to appeal were denied. With a conservative majority, the nation’s highest court agreed to review the case earlier this year.
Rep. Becky Currie authored the bill. During an interview with SuperTalk Mississippi she told us the courts recent decision to decline to block a Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks gives her hope. “This law would save millions and millions of lives if they take it at the 15 week.” Texas is one of several states, including Mississippi, that has passed laws banning abortions at early stages in pregnancy.
Typically, the court has ruled that states can’t ban abortions before viability, which is considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion providers argue that if these bans are enforced, large swaths of the South and Midwest will end up without access to legal abortion. They warn the Supreme Court that allowing the law to stand will upend 50 years of precedent and open the door for other states to outlaw abortion outright.
“I’m well aware that life starts at conception, but when you’re starting to chisel away at this you have to start somewhere,” Currie continued. “If they put it back in the hands of states, we’ve already done a heartbeat bill just like Texas. That was several years ago. We’re all in line to kick right in to where we feel it needs to be.”
Mississippi abortion clinic files brief in Supreme Court review of 15-week ban
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