JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi lawmakers are inching forward with a proposal that could become one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation.
The House Public Health Committee on Wednesday amended and passed Senate Bill 2116 , which would ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, about six weeks into pregnancy. The bill moves to the full House for debate another day.
Similar bills are being considered in other states, including Tennessee. Conservatives want to push an abortion case to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the court’s 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
Mississippi enacted a 15-week abortion ban last year, and a federal judge declared the law unconstitutional. The state has appealed that ruling.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has said he will sign the new bill into law.
