A bill to restrict abortions under certain circumstances is headed to the Mississippi Senate after House lawmakers passed the measure. As MPB's Desare Frazier reports, it will be the third bill in recent years to limit abortions.
House Bill 1295 referred to as the Life Equality Act, would ban abortions based on race, sex or genetic abnormalities unless there's a medical emergency. The bill passed the House 70 to 33. Republican Tracy Arnold of Booneville supports it.
"When conception takes place, I believe that that's an act of God and a child is created with a life and a purpose and those infants deserve the right to live and enjoy the gift of life God's given them," said Arnold.
In the bill doctors who intentionally perform abortions despite the restrictions would face penalties that include fines and license revocations. House Democrat Hester Jackson-McCray of Horn Lake voted against the measure. She says a woman should have the right to choose but,
"I don't believe in abortions and if a baby is conceived the way it's supposed to be conceived, we should be grateful to bring this child to life," said McCray.
In the past two years, the legislature has passed two abortion laws--one limits them to 15 weeks of pregnancy. The other would ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked both laws saying they're unconstitutional. Currently the state's only abortion clinic provides abortions up to 16 weeks. Democratic Senator Barbara Blackmon of Canton says House Bill 1295's abortion ban based on race, sex and genetic abnormalities will pass the Senate.
"So it's another way for the State of Mississippi to waste taxpayer dollars defending an indefensible lawsuit,"said Blackmon.
If the Senate passes the bill it would take effect July of this year.
