As shocking as it was to read the leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion indicating that the court would overrule Roe v. Wade, now we have lawmakers refusing to say whether or not they’d rule out banning contraception. One such lawmaker is Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who sidestepped questions about legal contraception in the state or whether Mississippi would launch a “trigger” law that would go into effect if Roe falls.
During an interview on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, Reeves was ambiguous regarding his position on banning contraception—including intrauterine devices (IUDs) or the Plan B emergency contraception pill. He simply dodged the question.
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“My view is that the next phase of the pro-life movement is focusing on helping those moms that maybe have an unexpected and unwanted pregnancy… And while I’m sure there will be conversations around America regarding [contraceptives], it’s not something that we have spent a lot of time focused on.”
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CNN host Jake Tapper pressured the governor about his definition on whether or not he believes that “conception is the moment of implantation,” Reeves said, “This is a debate we can have once the Court actually makes their ruling. Once the words are on the page.”
When asked directly if he would ban IUDs or Plan B, Reeves said, “That is not what we are focused on at this time… we’re focused on seeing what the Court allows for. The bill before the Court is a 15-week ban. We believe that the overturning of Roe is the correct decision by the Court and in Mississippi, we don’t have laws on the books that would lead to arresting individuals or anything along those lines.”
When Tapper asked if he would arrest doctors for performing abortions. Reeves answered, “I don’t think you’re going to see doctors performing abortions if we have a state statute that says that they’re not allowable except for those exceptions we’ve mentioned earlier.”
The exceptions Reeves is referring to are in the cases of rape or to protect the life of the pregnant person. The Washington Post reports, however, that the laws do not include exceptions for incest.
Reeves was quite clear on his attitude toward abortion in general, telling Tapper, “I believe that life begins at conception.” He added that there’s “nothing in the U.S. Constitution about a fundamental right to abortion” or anything in it that “precludes states from regulating or restricting abortions. And that’s the ruling the Court should make.”
During another interview Sunday, this time on NBC’s Meet the Press, when asked again about banning contraception, Reeves said he didn’t believe that future laws in his home state would “apply to those that choose to use birth control.”
Friday, Tennesse Gov. Bill Lee signed a law making it a Class E felony with a $50,000 fine for anyone to get an abortion pill through the mail, the Tennessean reported.
On May 4, the Louisiana House advanced a bill to deem abortion a homicide and allow the state to criminalize all abortion and prosecute patients for murder—a move that grants constitutional rights to a human being “from the moment of fertilization,” the Post reports.