AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Texas and 17 other States supporting a Mississippi law prohibiting non-emergency abortions past the 15th week of pregnancy.
“Abortion is not just another routine and victimless procedure. At 15 weeks, the fetus can feel the pain of being ripped apart during an abortion, and later-term abortions are proven to pose a greater risk to women’s health,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Three out of four Americans agree that abortion should be restricted after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The Mississippi Legislature enacted this law in accordance with the beliefs of its constituents and the precedents of the United States Supreme Court. It should be upheld.”
In March 2018, Mississippi enacted the Gestational Age Act, which was declared unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court despite legislative findings that an unborn baby can sense stimulation from the outside world and has developed all basic physiological functions at just 12 weeks.
Read a copy of the amicus brief here.