Mississippi is already one of the worst states to live in if you’re a woman seeking abortion services. Mandated biased counseling sessions, parental consent requirements for young women (from BOTH parents), clauses allowing any health care provider to refuse to provide abortion-related services or referrals — just name the abortion restriction, and chances are Mississippi already has it. Or one would think.
Apparently, enacting laws that punish women for having unintended pregnancies is an ongoing pastime of Mississippi politicians. Three bills aimed at further restricting abortion passed in the Mississippi House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 97-16. And they draw from the latest tactics of anti-choice political hardliners — sonogram requirements, stricter parental consent laws, and of course, an abortion ban.
Planned Parenthood of Alabama, which provides reproductive health care services in Mississippi, issued a statement yesterday, condemning the legislation's passage.
"If lawmakers are truly concerned about preventing unintended pregnancy in Mississippi they should work with Planned Parenthood on prevention by increasing access to birth control and medically accurate sex education. This legislation does nothing to reduce unintended pregnancy rates in Mississippi," said Felicia Brown Williams, vice president of public affairs for the group's Alabama chapter.
"With Mississippians continuing to face many unmet needs over a year after Hurricane Katrina, the legislature’s focus on restricting abortion access is the ultimate illustration of misplaced priorities. They should stop wasting time on legislation that interferes in the private health care decisions of families."
Mississippi is one of a handful of states that have only one abortion provider serving the entire state. That wasn’t always the case. When the Jackson Women's Health Clinic first opened its doors in 1995, four other clinics in Mississippi offered abortion services. But as more restrictions were passed, those other clinics closed. And if things continue down the current path, it may not be long before this last clinic standing closes its doors, too.