Mississippi's Failure: Maternal and Reproductive Healthcare

Mississippi has done nothing to improve access to reproductive healthcare.

An overwhelming majority of Mississippians agree that the current state legislature is failing to invest in the well-being of women and children. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade, Mississippi’s reproductive healthcare has become even more inaccessible, unaffordable, and nearly obsolete.

Limited abortion exceptions and the loss of Jackson Women’s Health Organization will force many Mississippi women to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. Current estimates place the number of additional births at 5,000 – a number for which state officials admit they are vastly unprepared.

This paper outlines state official’s history of negligence against pregnant people, children, and victims of rape.