Washington, D.C. — Today, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) signed a 15-week abortion ban into law, imposing yet another barrier onto the procedure in a state already hostile to abortion. House Bill 1510 will take effect immediately. The bill contains criminal and civil penalties, respectively, for women seeking abortion and doctors who perform the procedure after 15 weeks of gestation. Shilpa Phadke, vice president of the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement in response:
H.B. 1510 is a new low when it comes to harming women’s access to abortion. The bill is out of step with the realities that women face—including the lack of exemptions for rape and incest and the fact that Mississippi has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the country—and is based on an arbitrary time limit. Given the negative climate Mississippi already has in place in regard to abortion, this bill will significantly worsen women’s ability to access the health care they need.
H.B. 1510 follows in the footsteps of earlier abortion bans that have popped up in other states—including a 12-week ban in Arkansas and a 6-week ban in North Dakota. However, these laws were struck down as violations of Roe v. Wade, which prohibits banning abortion within the first trimester.
Related resource: Rhetoric vs. Reality: How Abortion Bans Hurt Women by Anusha Ravi and Jamila Taylor
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Sally Tucker at 202.481.8103 or [email protected].