JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi lawmakers are pushing ahead with a bill that could make the state the first to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, setting up a possible court challenge.
Mississippi already bans most abortions after 20 weeks. It's tied with North Carolina for the nation's earliest ban.
Members of the Republican-controlled House on Friday passed House Bill 1510 , which would allow exceptions if a woman's life is endangered or a fetus has a severe abnormality. The bill goes to the Senate.
House Judiciary B Committee Chairman Andy Gipson says Mississippi wants to prevent women from being adversely affected by abortion.
Felicia Brown-Williams, state director for Planned Parenthood Advocates Southeast, calls the proposal unconstitutional, saying the U.S. Supreme Court won't allow bans before a fetus can live outside the womb.
