Attorney General Fitch certifies Mississippi's abortion trigger law
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Jun. 27—JACKSON — By the end of next week, abortion in most instances will be outlawed in Mississippi.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch on Monday morning published a certification in the state's administrative bulletin that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, which starts a 10-day clock needed for the state's "trigger law" on abortion access to take effect.
"Mississippi's laws to promote life are solid and thanks to the Court's clear and strong opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, they can now go into effect," Fitch said in a statement. "As we have said throughout this case, Roe v. Wade presented a false choice between a woman's future and her child's life."
Once 10 days have lapsed, the 2007 law only allows physicians to conduct abortions when a mother's life is at stake or when the pregnancy resulted from a rape that has been reported to law enforcement. The law does not allow for an exception for incest.
If someone is convicted of performing an illegal abortion, they would be guilty of a felony and could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.
It's unlikely the restrictive law will change anytime soon. House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, told reporters on Friday that he does not support tweaking the law and believes most of the members would be against any change as well.
When asked if he thought a 12-year-old child who became pregnant by a family member should carry a pregnancy to term, the Republican speaker said yes.
"That's my personal belief," Gunn said. "I believe life begins at conception."
People still have 10 more days to obtain a legal abortion in Mississippi. But at the end of the day on July 7, Mississippi's only clinic that performs abortions, will likely be forced to close its doors.
Diane Derzis, owner of the Jackson Women's Health Organization clinic in Jackson, told reporters on Friday that the clinic would continue to operate until it legally had to cease operations.
After the trigger law goes into effect, Derzis said her mission would shift to helping Mississippi patients receive transportation and funds needed to seek an abortion elsewhere in the country.
"We're not laying down. We're not giving up," Derzis said. "Women have always had abortions no matter what it took, even it it was their life. And we're going to make sure that's not on the line here."
