After hearing this on the news today, I just knew I would be able to find an article online to post about. Something like this would not get ignored by any media:
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Mississippi passes what-if abortion bill Thu Mar 22, 10:39 PM ET
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070323/ap_on_re_us/mississippi_abortion)
The governor signed a bill Thursday that would criminalize abortion in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 1973 decision that legalized the procedure.
The measure, signed by Gov. Haley Barbour, would ban nearly all abortions in the state if the court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. In that event, anyone performing an illegal abortion in Mississippi would face one to 10 years in prison.
The bill also tightens consent laws for minors and requires abortion providers to perform a sonogram and give the pregnant woman an opportunity to listen to a fetal heartbeat.
The only exceptions to the state ban would be in cases of rape or if the pregnancy threatened the woman's life. The bill has no exception for pregnancies caused by incest.
Proponents of the bill say the ultimate goal is to one day challenge Roe v. Wade. Anti-abortion activists and some lawmakers believe that with the recent appointments of new, conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade could be overturned.
Mississippi is one of many states revisiting the abortion debate. South Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill that would require women to view ultrasound images of their fetuses.
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I cannot even put my thoughts into coherent phrases as to how I feel about this; Well, other than the thought that I am so glad I don't live in Mississippi.
First, to even pass a "what-if" bill at all; are they assuming that Roe vs. Wade will be overturned? What are they basing that assumption on? Has someone heard something that maybe the rest of us haven't yet? And what will happen if Roe vs. Wade isn't overturned? What will they do then?
Second, up to ten years in jail? Are they serious? Yes, I realize that there are some people that view abortion as akin to murder, but it has never legally or officially been equated to murder, so why this harsh a sentence? Are they running short on armed robbers, rapists, and actual murderers that they need to fill their jail cells with women already in a bad situation?
And third, how will this affect the rest of us, not living in Mississippi? South Dakota has already tried to ban abortion once, and that failed miserably. Will other states try to follow in these same steps? Or will the women of Mississippi who find themselves in this type of situation simply go to another state to have the procedure done (which, from what I've heard, they would have to do anyway because there are no abortion clinics in the state of Mississippi).
What do you see happening from a law such as this? If your state tried to pass this sort of law, would you support it? Do you think Mississippi is merely exercising States' Rights, and that every state should decide on its own whether or not to allow abortion?
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Mississippi must be proud. They've taken care of all the hard core criminals and now have room to take on women who, for whatever reason, decided they are not ready to be a parent. I have to ask though... what happens to the men involved in making the decision for their wives, etc to have abortions? Do they get off scot free since they aren't the ones carrying the child?
On another note, however, I don't see how they plan to enforce this. If there are no abortion clinics in Mississippi as you said, the women would have to leave the state to have an abortion and once across state lines, Mississippi would no longer have jurisdiction and no longer be allowed to prosecute.
Stupid laws depress me.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
"May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the warm rays of the sun fall upon your home."
Mississippi's not a great state anyway, but I don't like that law. Of course, if the supreme court overturns Roe v. Wade, then it's moot because it becomes a legal bill, but I sure wouldn't want to live there.
State's rights are a good idea, but usually when people say they support "state's rights" they're talking about how much they dislike (insert demographic group here.)
(if you can't see the fnords they won't eat you)
The "What if?" thing is a little odd. I guess that makes it easier to pass, hm?
Abortions a rather grey area for me, but I have to say the 10 years in prison is definately something I don't agree with.
Roe v. Wade is settled law. It would take a MONUMENTAL reversal of unpredecented proportions to see this decisions set aside. This kind of bill is nothing more than an attempt to pander to the anti-choice crowd who just can't seem to get it though their thick skulls that this kind of sweeping criminalization is unconsitutitonal, and that barring the repeal of the 14th Amenendment to the Constitution, there is literally ZERO chance that such a bill could ever HOPE to withstand a constitutional challenge.
Honestly, the anti-choice crowd should be insulted, since this is no more than an attempt to buy their votes with pointless legislation.
percivale
(The bill also tightens consent laws for minors and requires abortion providers to perform a sonogram and give the pregnant woman an opportunity to listen to a fetal heartbeat.)
Talk about cruel and unsusual.
>Mississippi's not a great state anyway
Haha what the hell are you basing that on? Mississippi may have a lot of problems in the past and present, but culturally, it is the most important state in America. There's a billboard campaign that not only addresses the negative stereotypes people have of Mississippi, but shows that they are completely wrong. It says "Yes we can read...Some of us can even write." and then it lists some of the great Mississippi writers like William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, Richard Wright, and John Grisham. It's also where Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Rogers, B.B. King, and Elvis and so many other musicians that it would take to long to list them all, are from. But as far as the issue goes, I have mixed feelings. The fact is clearly a lot of women in Mississippi are against abortion (yeah I here they even let women vote there), and I feel it is kind of there choice. Roe v Wade was a pretty bad Supreme Court decision in the sense that it really was not based on the constitution at all. Now, the Texas law that it overturned was a bad law, because it only allowed women to get an abortion if having the baby would kill them, and they really didn't give any way to prove that the baby would kill her unless she had it and died, but a Georgia law that said abortion is allowed if the baby is a threat to the mother's general health was also overturned. I mean this law allowed a lot of room for justification, because even the mental health of the mother could be considered a reason, but it didn't go so far as to say abortion all the time. You got to consider that America has far and away the most permissive abortion laws in the world, and while the Mississippi laws go way to far in my opinion, I think that there are enough states that won't outlaw it that it wouldn't be that big a deal, in terms of the effects it has. Preventing women from resorting to unsafe illegal abortions is a big reason to keep it legal, but I think that she'll go to Louisiana instead of that. I mean, I believe that we should keep abortion legal, but I think the pro-choice movement has gone a little too far in saying that people who are against abortion are some sort of misogynist monster, and in kind of trying to step around the democratic process.