Mississippi “Heartbeat Ban” Off The Table for 2012
The senate committee chair refused a hearing on the bill, making it impossible for it to receive a vote this legislative session.
Mississippi may be doing everything in its power to become an “abortion-free” state, but one thing it won’t be doing right now is banning abortion from the point at which a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The “heartbeat ban” stalled in senate committee as the chair refused to allow it to the full senate for a vote.
Via the Associated Press:
Democrat Hob Bryan, chairman of the Senate Judiciary B Committee, says the bill is unconstitutional because lawmakers are limited in what they can do to restrict abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Senate Bill 2771 died because Bryan didn’t bring it up for a Senate vote before a deadline. Thursday was the final day for the House and Senate to consider changes the opposite chamber had made to general bills.
Although the ban already once managed to make it back out for a vote despite moves by Bryan to kill them in committee, there are no longer any bills left that the ban could be added to in order to move them to the senate for a full vote. This makes it impossible for the ban to come back this year.