Mississippi’s governor signed the most restrictive abortion law in the nation Monday, banning the procedure after 15 weeks while providing no exemptions for rape or incest.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant said he wants his state to be the “safest place in America for an unborn child.”
Within hours of signing the bill the state’s sole abortion clinic filed a lawsuit.
The new measure does provide exemptions if the pregnant woman’s life or “major bodily function” is threatened, or if the unborn child could not survive outside the womb.
Prior to passage of the law, Mississippi was among 17 states that banned abortion after 20 weeks.
The lawsuit by the Jackson Women’s Health Organization contends the law is unconstitutional and violates other federal court rulings saying a state can’t restrict abortion
