Why Mississippi's new abortion law doesn't affect women or women's rights
The Issue: Mississippi's controversial health care law has made it the only state without an abortion clinic
Why Mississippi's new abortion law doesn't affect women or women's rights
When people vote for politicians, they vote for whom they best believe represents their values. It should come to no surprise, then, that when dealing with an issue such as access to abortion clinics, traditionally conservative Mississippians would vote to curtail access, if not ban it outright. When Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, said he wanted the state to be abortion-free, he simply reflected both his views and the views of his constituents.
The “controversial” new law apparently has everyone from outside of Mississippi up in arms over nothing. They claim the law disadvantages women, strips them of their right to abortion granted under Roe v. Wade and will encourage illegal and unsafe abortions.
But the new law simply requires that abortion clinics show proof that each of its physicians have hospital-admitting privileges at a local hospital. This, in direct contrast to common complaints, adds another layer of protection for women by ensuring that their abortion providers are not only capable, but also able to take care of them in an emergency. In a state that has been home to substandard abortion providers, regulation such as this is crucial.
Yes, this new health care law will close the only abortion clinic in the state. But instead of being outraged, shouldn’t opponents take a broader look and examine why the state has only one abortion clinic or why it couldn’t comply with this new law?
The fact is that Mississippians are perhaps some of the “reddest” citizens in the nation, and they typically embrace conservative, anti-abortion values. According to the Guttmacher Institute, Mississippi reports the second-lowest rate of legal abortions out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Organizations such as Gallup and Americans United For Life also rank it as the most religious states and as one of the more anti-abortion states in the union, respectively.
In America, states have the right to make laws that reflect the views and values of its citizens as long as it doesn’t interfere with the rights of others — and this law doesn’t.
The law is not misogynistic, it’s not anti-woman, nor is it any of the other drivel that critics claim. Mississippi’s politicians did something right when it listened to its constituents and made laws that reflect their views. This is something to be applauded, not disparaged.
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