Last standing abortion clinic in Mississippi

By Kelly J Newson

Come July 1, Mississippi just may be the only state in the United States to not have an abortion clinic. This is due to a huge vote in that state’s legisture for all physicians to have admitting privileges to the local hospital. Many of the practicing physicians do not have the admittance privileges, so come July 1, this last standing abortion clinic in the state will be shut down. Even if the physicians get the necessary admittance, it may not be in time, but they will be given 10 days to comply with this new law.

Many in the state legisture have voiced their approval for this law and their real intentions for it. For instance, state legislator Bubba Carpenter said this in front of a group of republicans that with the new law, the Legislature had “literally stopped abortion in the state of Mississippi.” However, other state legislators such as Rep. Mims has said that they aren’t trying to outlaw abortion but make sure that physicians at these clinics are able to follow their patients to a local hospital if complications arise. Then he added, “if this abortion clinic is closed, I think it’s a great day for Mississippi.”

This law may have good intentions but can have some backlash too. Mississippi is already the poorest state with a high teen pregnancy rate, so if this clinic closes many teens may risk their own lives and abort their baby using unsafe methods, or it may make Mississippi a state with an even higher welfare due to even more teen pregnancies. Or perhaps it will turn out good for the state except for everyone who preaches separation of church and state. Well, this is one of those times when state legislators should put their personal beliefs aside and think of what’s good for the people. This law may have good intentions, but at what cost?