Mississippi House passes abortion legislation

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is expected to sign a bill that would ban abortion based on the race, sex or genetic anomalies of a fetus, possibly setting up another lawsuit by abortion-rights groups in a state that already has some of the strictest laws in the U.S.

The state House voted 91-25 Tuesday to pass the final version of the bill, which cleared the Senate by a wide margin.

Supporters said the bill would prevent abortion for Down syndrome or other conditions. Opponents said it would interfere with private medical decisions in a state with one abortion clinic.

“This unconstitutional restriction adversely affects poor women who do not have the means to seek assistance elsewhere,” said Beth Orlansky, advocacy director for the Mississippi Center for Justice.

Sue Liebel, state policy director for the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that opposes abortion, praised Mississippi lawmakers for passing the bill.

“Abortions carried out because of a baby’s sex, race, or potential disability, such as Down syndrome, constitutes modern-day eugenics,” Liebel said.

Nine states ban abortion based on the sex of the fetus, two ban it based on race and two ban it based on genetic anomalies, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. Missouri is the only state that has banned all three. Kentucky’s ban on all three has been put on hold by court order.

The Mississippi bill would set a prison sentence of up to 10 years for any physician or other health care worker who knowingly violates the ban. It says the woman getting the abortion would not be punished, and the ban would not apply if the woman faces a medical emergency because of the pregnancy.