The state of Mississippi has currently been ranked by Americans United for Life (AUL) as the seventh most pro-life in the country. The organization ranks the states based on their treatment of all life issues, but the final
ranking depends largely on each state’s enactment of prudent and
well-supported laws that challenge the abortion license granted by the
U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. Perhaps one of the reasons that the Magnolia State ranks so high in this regard is due to the fact that it ranks so low in another category: its amount of abortion clinics. Currently, only one sole abortion clinic remains in the entire state of Mississippi.
Jackson Women's Health Organization, located at 2903 North State Street in the state's capital city, is the last of its kind in Mississippi. Open weekdays 8 to 5 and weekends 9 to 12, it is the only place that a women seeking an abortion can go in the entire state. The fact that the clinic is the last in the Mississippi is largely due to the great number of pro-life legislation that the the state of Mississippi has passed. Additionally, just about every day there is some sort of Catholic or pro-life group standing outside of the clinic praying the rosary, reading bible passages, or trying to reason with young women seeking abortions. Additionally, since Jackson Women's Health Organization no longer receives funding from the state, many economists speculate that the clinic will not be able to stay open for much longer.
Many people debate what effect shutting down all abortion clinics in Mississippi would have. Many pro-lifers agree that an abortion-clinic free state would be a huge victory for the movement and would most certainly "rally the troops". However, many people also speculate that the closing of the last abortion clinic in Mississippi would also cause a huge uproar in the pro-choice movement, as they might perceive it as a threat or as an attack on their rights. What do you think? Comments and feedback welcome.
To learn more about Jackson Women's Health Organization: The Last Abortion Clinic
To learn about the pro-life legislation passed in Mississippi: Pro-Life Mississippi
