Mississippi Follows South Dakota: No Exception for Rape or Incest

Anti-women, anti-life lawmakers in Mississippi are upset that they will no longer go down in history as the first state in the country to force women who are raped by their fathers to have the baby. A Mississippi House Committee has voted to ban all abortions, with an exception to save the life of the woman. If this passes, it will kill many more women than it will "save." There are no exceptions for rape or incest:

Mississippi already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, requiring a 24-hour waiting period in all cases and parental consent before a minor can have a pregnancy terminated.

The state has only one operating abortion clinic, in Jackson.

Terri Herring, president of Pro-Life Mississippi, said the Senate's sonogram proposal could have an immediate effect of persuading some women to avoid abortion. She said the new House proposal likely would prompt a court challenge if it were to become law.

"To have a law in the courts would, in effect, not make any substantive change in Mississippi's abortion practices," Herring said.

She also said: "Whether it's South Dakota or Mississippi, our goals are the same. We want to end abortion in our lifetime, and we want to see Mississippi be the first state to end abortion."

Susan Hill is president of the National Women's Health Organization, which runs the only abortion clinic still operating in Mississippi. She said she wasn't surprised by lawmakers' move.

"What took them so long? I thought they'd be ahead of South Dakota," Hill said.

She said her organization will battle attempts to put more restrictions on abortion in Mississippi.

"We're realists," Hill said. "We know we're in a state where the Legislature is anti-choice."

The full House is expected to vote on the bill next week, according to House Public Health Chairman Steve Holland, a Democrat from Plantersville:

Holland said he brought up the near ban on abortion because he's tired of piecemeal attempts to add new restrictions year after year. He said he woke up about 3 a.m. Tuesday and decided to introduce his proposal, and he only told two House staff members about his plans before he made the move.

"I have a strong dilemma within myself on this," Holland said. "I can only impregnate. I can't get pregnant myself."

So he woke up at 3 a.m. and decided it's time to force women to have botched abortions. I'd like to know how many of these guys who "can only impregnate" take Viagra or "male enhancing" drugs.

Unlike the South Dakota law, an amendment tacked on to the Mississippi law would provide free education and medical services to any child born in the state, until the age of 19. Democratic Rep. Omeria Scott, an African-American woman, had to "persudade" fellow members to pass the amendment:

Scott said her proposal could extend beyond the public schools and Medicaid already offered. She said it could make a significant difference for a poor woman who's trying to decide whether to have an abortion.

"Anyone who wants to take this language out of this bill is not for life," Scott said.

The article forgot to mention how Scott voted, the MS House doesn't keep records on committee votes and Scott's office isn't answering.

I visited Mississippi on my six-month road trip to the so-called "red states" and met a slew of pro-choice Democrats; the problem is, they aren't organized. The MS Democratic Party recently added abortion to its platform, but many Democratic politicians are anti-choice. Many Southern Democrats who are pro-choice told me if they publicly announce their support for a woman's right to choose, their opponent will use the statement in an ad and they will lose their next election. To say it's a dire situation is putting it mildly.

A side note: The Bush family was in favor of family planning and choice before they were against it. W's grandpa was the treasurer of Planned Parenthood in 1947.