Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant Signs Controversial ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Ban
The new law makes it illegal to have an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Reuters/Jonathan Bachman
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed one of the country’s strictest abortion laws on Thursday, making it illegal for women to have an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs about six weeks into pregnancy. The new controversial law, one openly rejected by reproductive rights groups, will take effect on July 1 despite a federal judge’s decision last year to strike down a less-restrictive law limiting abortions. Just before the bill signing, the Center for Reproductive Rights called the law—which threatens the revocation of a state medical license for physicians who perform an abortion after a detected fetal heartbeat—“cruel and clearly unconstitutional” and announced their intentions to sue. “They don’t have to sue us. It’s up to them,” Bryant told reports after the ceremony. “If they do not believe in the sanctity of life, these that are in organizations like Planned Parenthood, we will have to fight that fight. But it is worth it.”
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