St. Louis, Mo., Feb 1, 2024 / 07:00 am
Amid a flurry of abortion-related referenda being pushed in states across the country this year, Republican lawmakers in Mississippi and Missouri are attempting to mitigate proposed pro-abortion initiatives in favor of the strong pro-life laws currently in force.
Under a proposal passed in late January by the Mississippi House of Representatives, Mississippians would be prevented from placing an initiative on the statewide ballot to change the state’s abortion laws. The proposal is part of a broader effort by Mississippi lawmakers to revive the state’s process of getting referenda on the ballot after its previous method was struck down by the state Supreme Court in 2021.
Mississippi’s law that makes abortion illegal after 15 weeks, which has since been superseded by a law making virtually all abortions illegal, was the subject of the Supreme Court case that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Some Mississippi House Republicans have said voters should not be allowed to vote on changing abortion laws because Mississippi originated the legal case that overturned Roe v. Wade, the Associated Press reported.
Abortion is only legal in Mississippi if the life of the mother is at risk or if the child was conceived due to an instance of rape reported to law enforcement.