Abortion rights advocates in Mississippi strategize for a post-Roe world.
, a young woman wearing a “Bans off my body” T-shirt walked up to a white poster in a downtown Jackson hotel ballroom.
Neighboring Louisiana is one of several states with trigger laws that would widely make abortion illegal if the landmark 1973 ruling falls. Lakeesha Harris, an activist from Louisiana who traveled to Jackson to speak at an abortion rights rally Wednesday, reminded the crowd that the consequences of what started as a state-level restriction in Mississippi do not exist in a silo.
“While the rest of the country is getting ready to feel what it’s like to be Mississippi … we’ve still been experiencing a post-Roe climate,” said Michelle Colon, a member of the Mississippi Abortion Access Coalition who founded SHERo Mississippi, a reproductive justice collective led by Black women. “If you only have one clinic, that’s a huge obstacle to access.”
A speaker shared his dream that the “Pink House,” as the facility is known for its pastel hue, would become a church. Her office has a pantry for those seeking assistance. She sees supporting women who continue their pregnancies as more of a responsibility for faith communities, rather than the government. The Republican-led state rejected a program to expand Medicaid to people who are below the federal poverty level, and it has one of the lowest insured rates in the country.It is just the latest attempt in Mississippi to restrict abortion.