On National TV, Gov. Reeves Evades Questions on Contraception, Incest, Deformities
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves left viewers unclear on his views about banning contraception during interviews on two national TV shows Sunday morning.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When Magnolia State state residents rejected the Personhood Amendment ten years ago this week by a 58%-to-42% vote, they defied national expectations. The Personhood Amendment, also known as Amendment 26, would have enshrined a definition of the word “person” in the state constitution that would have included even fertilized human eggs, theoretically banning all abortions.
Ending most legalized abortions will “empower” more women to pursue careers while also raising children, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch told a Catholic television host late last week.
Mississippi’s justification for unconstitutional abortion restrictions has long revolved around the assertion that the laws, like the 15-week ban recently taken up by the Supreme Court, protect women and children. But the reality is now, and has long been, that Mississippi women and children’s health and economic security is not prioritized.
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
125 S. Congress Street #1324
Jackson, MS 39201
info@mississippifreepress.org
tips@mississippifreepress.org
events@mississippifreepress.org
601-362-6121