In Mississippi now is prohibited without a medical indication to abort a pregnancy after 15 weeks. The relevant law on March 19 was signed by Governor Phil Bryant.
I pray today we have first saved the life of an unborn child in Mississippi. https://t.co/G7YNINWGIL
— Phil Bryant (@PhilBryantMS) March 20, 2018
Earlier, the Republican Bryant has repeatedly said he wants to make Mississippi «the safest place in America for the unborn children.»
As I have repeatedly said, I want Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child. House Bill 1510 will help us achieve that goal. https://t.co/ffqRfhwx51
— Phil Bryant (@PhilBryantMS) March 6, 2018
The adopted law envisages a number of exceptions, among which the problems of prenatal development, resulting in fruit can not survive in the womb and is a serious threat to the life of the woman. Abortion was prohibited even in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
In Mississippi and North Carolina has some of the toughest U.S. abortion laws. Moreover, in these States, the pregnancy is counted from the time of the last menstrual cycle, while the rest of the country by the beginning of the term is the moment of fertilization, i.e., on average 2 weeks laterthan in the first case.
Mississippi authorities have already prepared for upcoming lawsuits to challenge the new law. According to defenders of abortion rights, the new law is unconstitutionalbecause it cancels the right of women to interrupt pregnancy before the fetus becomes viable outside the womb. Typically, this is the 24th week of pregnancy. After judicial precedent «ROE V. Wade» this right after women secured the U.S. Supreme court.
«We definitely believe that the bill is unconstitutional. A 15-week period, defined by the authorities, has nothing to do with science. It is absolutely not justified, and the court has never supported restrictions on the time earlier than 20 weeks,» said Kathryn Klein, coordinator of the American civil liberties Union (American Civil Liberties Union) in Mississippi.
The owner of the only Mississippi abortion clinic, located in Jackson, also opposed novoprint of the law.
