The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade this morning, paving the way for states like Mississippi to restrict abortion access to a greater extent than any time in the last half century. The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization immediately allows Mississippi’s ban on nearly all abortions after 15 weeks to go into effect.
Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn said on May 9, 2022, that “the Mississippi House of Representatives would not move legislation banning contraceptives forward,” describing concerns over the possibility in the event of the overturn of Roe v. Wade as left-wing “scaremongering.” But in 2011, Gunn endorsed the Personhood Amendment, a ballot initiative 58% of voters rejected that would have banned all abortions in addition to endangering several forms of contraception, such as IUDs and Plan B.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves left viewers unclear on his views about banning contraception during interviews on two national TV shows Sunday morning.
Pink House Defender Derenda Hancock felt numb as she stood outside the entrance to the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, waving her arms to beckon abortion patients to ignore the anti-abortion protesters accosting their cars and pull on into the parking lot. The night before, on Monday, May 2, a draft of the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization had leaked, indicating the U.S. Supreme Court’s intentions to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Mississippi’s attorney general claims that “God selected this case” to overturn Roe v. Wade, referring Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. For years, Christian dominionists and their allies have sought to remake the U.S. Supreme Court in order to achieve their goals and establish God’s kingdom on earth. Ending legalized abortion is just one of those goals.
For decades, the Christian Dominionist movement has sought to remake earthly government in its image. This is Part I in an in-depth series exploring how Christian dominionists and their allies worked to get Roe v. Wade and abortion rights back before the U.S. Supreme Court—and how they used Mississippi to make it happen.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves confirmed this weekend that his state will swiftly move to enact a trigger law banning nearly all abortions starting from the moment of conception if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade.
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.
Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart told the nation’s high court that Roe v. Wade and a follow-up case in 1992 that affirmed it, Casey v. Planned Parenthood, had “haunted” the nation. Mississippi wants the court to overturn Roe v. Wade and uphold a 2018 law it passed banning abortions after 15 weeks.
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