Mississippi follows South Dakota's lead, seeks to ban abortion

Miss. Bill to Ban Most Abortions Advances
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS,
Associated Press Writer1 hour, 26 minutes ago
A state House committee voted to ban most abortions in Mississippi, which already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation.
The bill approved by the House Public Health Committee on Tuesday would allow abortion only to save the pregnant woman's life. It would make no exception in cases of rape or incest. The bill now goes to the full House, which could vote next week, and then to the Senate.
South Dakota lawmakers passed a similar bill last week that was intended to provoke a court showdown over the legality of abortion.
The Mississippi lawmaker who introduced the near-ban, Democrat Steve Holland, said he acted because he was tired of piecemeal attempts to add new abortion restrictions year after year.
Holland said he has voted for some abortion restrictions and against others in the past. "I have a strong dilemma within myself on this," Holland said. "I can only impregnate. I can't get pregnant myself."
Mississippi already requires a 24-hour waiting period and counseling for all abortions, plus the consent of both parents for minors who seek the procedure. Republican Gov. Haley Barbour favors restrictions on abortion, but he has not spoken about the current legislation.
The state has one abortion clinic, in Jackson, and its leaders plan to fight if more restrictions are imposed.
"We're realists. We know we're in a state where the Legislature is anti-choice," said Susan Hill, president of the National Women's Health Organization, which runs the clinic.
The South Dakota legislation went to Republican Gov. Mike Rounds on Tuesday, and he has 15 days to act. Rounds has said he's inclined to sign the bill into law.