Mississippi passes abortion ban after heartbeat detection, Gov Phil Bryant will sign into law
So in contrast to the liberal, abortion any time movement in New York and Virginia, on Wednesday, the Mississippi state Senate and House of Representatives passed bills to prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectable (between six and seven weeks gestation).
While the bills offer “life of the mother” exceptions, they do not make exceptions for infants conceived in rape or incest. An amendment to provide such an exception was proposed during debate, but it was ultimately defeated.
On the day the bills passed, Republican Governor Phil Bryant sent out a tweet saying that he intends to sign the legislation into law:
I’ve often said I want Mississippi to be the safest place for an unborn child in America. I appreciate the leadership of the MS House and Senate, along with members of the Legislature, for passing the fetal heartbeat bills today. I look forward to signing this act upon passage.
The Senate bill reads in part:
Except when a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance with this section, no person shall perform an abortion on a pregnant woman before determining if the unborn human individual that the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable fetal heartbeat. Any person who performs an abortion on a pregnant woman based on the exception in this section shall note in the pregnant woman’s medical records that a medical emergency necessitating the abortion existed. …
Except as provided in paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection (5), no person shall knowingly perform an abortion on a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of the unborn human individual that the pregnant woman is carrying and whose fetal heartbeat has been detected according to the requirements of subsection (3) of this section.
The legislation goes on to make exceptions for doctors who engage in procedures that would “prevent the death of a pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”
photo Alyson Jones
