Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteed the right to an abortion, conservative legislators have spent considerable energy in writing laws to chip away at that right.
But when the legislature meets in January, the focus will shift dramatically in wake of last week’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that left the question of legal abortions up to individual states and triggered a law in Mississippi that bans them.
The Golden Triangle delegation is split on abortion along party lines, with Republicans hailing the decision as a victory for the unborn while Democrats largely lament the ruling as taking away a women’s right to body autonomy and privacy.
What both parties agree on is that in wake of the most recent Supreme Court ruling, the state needs to make a good-faith effort to provide resources and support for mothers when abortion is no longer legal in the state.
A “trigger law” passed in 2006 that makes abortion illegal in the state in the event Roe v. Wade was overturned is set to go into effect Wednesday, although the trigger law is being challenged on the basis of a 1998 case where the state’s supreme court affirmed the right to abortions under the state constitution.
While that plays out in the courts, leaders in both chambers of the legislature are putting together committees to discuss options intended to provide resources.
House Speaker Philip Gunn said he does not expect legislation that would restrict contraception, but did not respond to questions about access to medications designed to induce abortions, which is the method used in about half of all abortions used in Mississippi.
“I’m sure it will be discussed,” said Sen. Angela Turner Ford (D, West Point). “Bills will be filed.”
“I’m kind of under the impression that the laws we have in place would prevent that, but I’m not sure,” said Rep. Dana McLean (R, Columbus). “I really want to focus on what we can do to help now that the decision has been made. We really need to extend postpartum (Medicaid) coverage to one year. That’s essential. Also, we need to have affordable child care, especially for young mothers. We need to improve our foster care system and adoption systems. I think that might be a function of marketing to encourage foster parenting and adoption and let them know what’s needed moving forward.”
McLean said she would also like to see legislation to provide no-cost contraception at county health departments throughout the state. Although she stopped short of supporting the expansion of Medicaid, which has been a non-starter in the legislature for years, she said she does favor increasing access to health coverage.
Friday, Gunn announced he will be forming a “Speaker’s Commission on Life,” which, he said, will appoint House members and experts on policy, women’s health, adoption and child protection. They will be charged with recommending “Next Steps for Life.”
Gunn has not announced any members of the commission to date.
On the Senate side, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announced a bi-partisan “Senate Study Group on Women, Children, and Families.” Turner-Ford will be one of the committee members.
“I’m hopeful that we will be able to agree on policies that will be helpful, but at this point it remains to be seen,” Turner said. “The law may have changed, but the members (of the legislature) haven’t.”
Turner’s cynicism grounded in the legislature’s history and current realities.
Mississippi’s infant mortality rate is highest in the nation and its maternal mortality rate is among the highest as well. An estimated 200,000 to 300,000 Mississippians have no health insurance due to the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid.
Uninsured mothers to newborns do have federally-mandated Medicaid coverage, but the length of that coverage is left to the states.
Mississippi allows postpartum Medicaid coverage for 60 days, the shortest length of coverage in the nation.
That isn’t lost on Turner-Ford.
“For at least the past three sessions, bills have been introduced to extend postpartum coverage to12 months, as it is in most states, and it has passed the Senate in the last two sessions,” she said. “It has died in the House the past two years. That’s something we could do, but for reasons that have never been articulated, it hasn’t passed in the House.”
Likewise, the state’s foster care system has long been deemed inadequate and is currently still working on a settlement plan after being sued by the federal government.
“When you look at all these things we’re hearing about now, they are things that we should have done years ago,” Turner-Ford said. “So there’s that. But what I do know is that I’m going to perform my duties (on the committee) to the best of my ability to make sure families and mothers have the resources they need. It’s more important than ever now.”
McLean also admits that the state’s poor track record may leave citizens skeptical about the state providing the kind of resources that should have already been implemented.
“Things should have been done earlier,” McLean said. “We have to do it now. There’s just no two ways about it. Better now than never.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is ssmith@cdispatch.com.
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