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Mississippi Becomes First State To Ban Abortions After 15 Weeks

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Mississippi became the first state to ban abortions after 15 weeks in pregnancy after its Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed the measure into law Monday.

Bryan signed House Bill 1510, which bans women from having abortions after 15 weeks gestation unless the unborn baby is expected to not survive outside the womb or if continuing the pregnancy will jeopardize the woman’s life.

“It’s a great day in Mississippi,” Republican Miss. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted Monday.

It’s a great day in Mississippi as we move to make our state the safest place in the nation for an unborn child. I was proud to stand with members of the pro-life community as Gov. @PhilBryantMS signed the ban on abortions after 15 weeks of gestation. pic.twitter.com/xWQNgjyTUn

— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 19, 2018

Jackson Women’s Health Organization owner Diane Derzis — running the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi — would sue if the law passed, she said and followed through with her threat Monday, according to The Associated Press.

Some pro-choice advocates think the end goal of passing the 15-week ban is to push the abortion conversation all the way to the Supreme Court. “I think the real aim here is to instigate a legal challenge that would put abortion before the U.S. Supreme Court, since abortion opponents are anticipating that in the next few years there will be a more conservative U.S. Supreme Court that will be more open to curtailing abortion rights,” Guttmacher Institute state policy expert Elizabeth Nash said, according to Governing News.

No state banned abortion before 20 weeks of pregnancy until Monday. Twenty other states ban abortions after more than 20 weeks gestation. (RELATED: Changes In Abortion Legislation Are Sweeping Across The Country. Here’s What You Need To Know)

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