Mississippi s last abortion clinic at center of US debate
EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press
May 22, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail 15
1of15Coleman Boyd, a Mississippi physician an a ardent anti-abortion advocate, calls out to people leaving the Jackson Womens Health Organization clinic, Thursday, May 20, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. The clinic is Mississippi s only state licensed abortion facility. On May 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the dispute over a Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The issue is the first test of limits on abortion access to go before the conservative majority high court. Their decision could mean more restrictions, and focuses on the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which established a woman s right to an abortion.Rogelio V. Solis/APShow MoreShow Less
Groups plan effort for Mississippi voting rights restoration
EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press
April 19, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail 14
1of14With tears rolling down her face, Debra Thomas speaks of the process to have her voting rights restored after completing her prison sentence, Monday, April 19, 2021, during a Poor People s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival assembly and news briefing in Jackson, Miss. The group presented a number of issues they hope will be addressed at a national gathering later in the year, including aspects of voter suppression, a low minimum wage and police violence.Rogelio V. Solis/APShow MoreShow Less
2of14Rev. William J. Barber II, national co-chair of the Poor People s Campaign, tells a gathering in downtown Jackson, Miss., that restoring voting rights to people who have finished serving time is a moral imperative, Monday, April 19, 2021. Barber was among speakers who addressed issues including voter suppression, low minimu
Analysis: Initiatives seek to bypass Mississippi lawmakers
EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press
April 18, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail 9
1of9Mississippi Supreme Court Associate Justices T. Kenneth Griffis, left, Dawn Beam, center and Josiah Dennis Coleman, listen to attorneys presenting arguments over a lawsuit that challenges the state s initiative process and seeks to overturn a medical marijuana initiative that voters approved in November 2020, Wednesday, April 14, 2021, in Jackson, Miss.Rogelio V. Solis/APShow MoreShow Less
2of9Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler listens to arguments before the Mississippi Supreme Court over her lawsuit that challenges the state s initiative process and seeks to overturn a medical marijuana initiative that voters approved in November, Wednesday, April 14, 2021, in Jackson, Miss.Rogelio V. Solis/APShow MoreShow Less
Mississippi law will ban shackling inmates during childbirth
EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press
April 16, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippi will join a growing number of states and the federal government in banning the use of restraints on women giving birth in a jail or prison.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves on Wednesday signed House Bill 196, the “Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act. It will become law July 1.
It says leg restraints and handcuffs cannot be used on an inmate who is pregnant or in labor unless a jail or prison employee believes she may harm herself, the fetus or any other person, or unless she is believed to be a flight risk.
Justices to hear Mississippi marijuana initiative arguments
EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press
April 12, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) The Mississippi Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit that challenges the state initiative process and seeks to block development of a medical marijuana program.
Voters in November approved Initiative 65, which requires the state Health Department to establish a medical marijuana program by the middle of this year.
A lawsuit by Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler is trying to block the program by arguing that Mississippi’s initiative process is outdated and Initiative 65 should not have been on the ballot.