- Mississippi Free Press

A gathering of faith leaders and others standing outside of a church with signs that say Working Together MIssissippi

MFP Voices

Catholic Bishops to Gov. Reeves: Mothers, Children Deserve Postpartum Health Care

On March 7, 2023, Catholic Bishop Louis F. Kihneman III of Biloxi, Miss., and Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz of Jackson, Miss., celebrated the March 7, 2023, passage of Senate Bill 2212, which will give new mothers 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage, with Working Together Mississippi. It awaits Gov. Tate Reeves’ signature. “We believe that access to affordable health care is a fundamental human right, one that is necessary for the flourishing of families and communities,” the bishops write.

Louis F. Kihneman, III and Joseph R. Kopacz March 8, 2023

MFP Voices

State Auditor’s ‘Fatherlessness’ Report Rife With Misinformation, Misdirection

Christine Dickason and Kaitlyn Barton submitted a response to State Auditor Shad White’s report, “Dads Matter: The Taxpayer Cost of Fatherlessness,” writing that the report is misinforming and misleading and that it “pulls our attention away from systemic issues plaguing the state.”

Christine Dickason and Kaitlyn Barton August 30, 2022

MFP Voices

Beyond Pro-Life and Pro-Choice: Emotional Intelligence Needed in Reproductive Rights Discussion

Hattiesburg, Miss., native Virginia Sciolino writes that when having discussions centering abortion and women’s reproductive rights, emotional intelligence and empathy is needed to break barriers and to challenge systemic disparities. We should “come into conversations with an emphasis on empathy, boundaries, mutual care and respect,” she writes.

Virginia Sciolino August 23, 2022

A man in a dark suit holds his hand up while speaking at a podium

News

With One Day Left, Mississippi Abortion Clinic Asks Judge For Reprieve

Mississippi’s only abortion clinic could be forced to cease operations in two days unless a judge agrees to block a near-total abortion ban from taking effect. In Hinds County Chancery Court this morning, an attorney for the Jackson Women’s Health Organization argued that the Mississippi State Constitution protects the right to abortion and asked Judge Debbra K. Halford to block the ban’s enforcement.

Kayode Crown and Ashton Pittman July 5, 2022

People in colorful clinic escort vests guard the driveway entrance to the clinic

News

Photo Gallery: The Pink House The Day Roe Fell

The photos in this gallery show the events that unfolded outside the Pink House on the day the Dobbs decision came down.

Lukas Flippo June 27, 2022

A sheriff stands in the road looking at the retreating back of a white man

News

Mississippi Abortion Clinic Will Remain Open Until At Least July 4th

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, upending decades of legal precedent in the United States and allowing states to enact full abortion bans. But in Mississippi, some abortions will remain legal until a 2007 trigger law goes into effect, likely in early July.

Nick Judin and Ashton Pittman June 24, 2022

MFP Voices

I Opposed Abortion Until I Fought to Defeat Personhood in Mississippi. Here’s Why.

“You may believe you will never need an abortion, nor will you ever get one,” Stacey Spiehler writes. “I understand that belief, because I once had it. But in the end, how much do you trust your government with your medical choices regarding your body?”

Stacey Spiehler May 25, 2022

A photo of Lou Engle speaking at a stadium outdoors, men behind him with their arms lifted in prayer

In-Depth

‘The Seed of A Revolution’: The Christian Dominionist War On Abortion, Part III

Hundreds of young Mississippians and Alabamans knelt in a dark room, their foreheads to the floor and tears streaming down their faces as each mouthed inaudible prayers, a foreboding melody drowning out their voices. On the stage in front of them, violet lights illuminated the hair of musicians and ministers on the stage, save for a balding man with a thick mustache who squeezed his eyes and rocked back-and-forth as he spoke.

Ashton Pittman February 21, 2022

a protestor carries an appeal to heaven flag outside the state's only abortion clinic

News

Justices Kavanaugh, Alito Compare Abortion to Segregation, Raise State’s Rights

A majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic Wednesday to the State of Mississippi’s argument that it should uphold the state’s 15-week abortion ban, imperiling almost a half century of precedent set by Roe v. Wade.

Ashton Pittman December 2, 2021