A new Mississippi law that restricts abortion providers might force the only abortion clinic in the state to shutter its doors. That could make Mississippi the only state in the nation without any abortion clinics. Critics of the law say it will force women to leave the state to have an abortion or could cause women to carry pregnancies that are unwanted to full term.
Officials from Mississippi, including the state’s governor say that limiting the amount of abortions is what they want to accomplish. Phil Bryant, the Republican Governor of the state wants the state to be abortion free.
Supporters of abortion have sued and asked a judge to block temporarily the new law from starting but that has yet to happen. The new law requires any establishment performing abortions to have an OB-GYN that has privileges to have patients admitted to a local hospital. Those type privileges are difficult to obtain and the clinic says the law is designed to put them out of business. The clinic’s spokesperson said the two doctors who work there are OB-GYN’s who travel to the clinic from other states.
A number of states including Kansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi have attempted over the last two to three years to lessen the accessibility to abortion. Law experts say how surprising it is that lawmakers in Mississippi have been so open about their final intentions. They have openly said they have approved the law to attempt to shut down the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi.
