Madison County residents, others celebrating Dobbs anniversary
State Rep. Jill Ford says she is especially proud to be representing the state that brought the case to the Supreme Court that overturned abortion on the anniversary of the decision.
“Mississippi is solidly pro-life and continues its pro-life work by enacting many laws towards empowering moms and families in our state,” Ford said. “As a lawmaker, I’ll always stand for the rights of the unborn and support of their mothers.”
Madison countians, including Choose Life Mississippi President Terry Herring, are still working day in and day out to help pass legislation to help mothers along with their children.
Choose Life Mississippi is a pregnancy care center based in Ridgeland.
Herring said she received a phone call from a friend on the day Roe v. Wade was overturned, and remembering that day still brings tears to her eyes.
“We are on the right side of history for human rights,” Herring said. “Abortion should be unimaginable in our nation, and hopefully one day it will truly just become history. We are very proud to be the first state to be able to end abortion in my lifetime, and it was an ambitious goal.”
Herring said several state laws have been passed in the last year, including HB 510, which established a foster parents' bill of rights, HB 1149, which established CPS as its own agency separate from DHS and strengthens the foster care system, and SB 2696, which created an income tax credit for qualified adoption expenses, a maximum $5,000 tax credit to cover adoption expenses for a child from outside of Mississippi, and a maximum $10,000 in tax credit.
“We believe women want to be good mothers, and while an untimely pregnancy can be difficult, we want to show women that we can care for them and provide them resources,” Herring said. “We want to hold their hands, provide them things like baby clothes and maternity items, and references to good medical care in their area. We want to be sure the moms know how to care for their children and get whatever else they might need.”
Lesley Davis, president, and CEO of Mississippi Advocacy Group, has been a pro-life and pro-women advocate in the state and three decades. She said MAG does work across Mississippi, including the Madison County area, and that she assists in writing public policy in any area that deals with pro-life, pro-women, and pro-family.
Davis recalled standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in December 2021 while the Supreme Court heard the Dobbs case and described the experience as surreal and powerful.
She said she was in London with her mother at an Elton John concert when she received the news Roe v. Wade had been overturned.
“My phone started blowing up from my friends and fellow pro-lifers,” Davis said. “My mother and I celebrated together and it was a moment of deep gratitude and shock. That’s when I thought to myself, ‘Now the work really begins.’ The work of caring for children, women, and families in need. I knew the abortion industry would not stop, but it would double down.”
She said over the past year, she has seen Mississippians come together and provide a pro-life safety care net for mothers and watched people truly love their neighbors.
In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision that left Mississippians, including those in Madison County, in tears of joy and gratitude.
Roe v. Wade, the 1973 court case which resulted in the landmark ruling that legalized abortion, was overturned just over a year ago on June 24, 2022, with the 2021 Mississippi court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
After hearing the Dobbs case in December 2021, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 decision saying the US Constitution did not in fact confer a right to abortion.