Mississippi is poised to become the state with the earliest ban on abortion in the U.S., after the state House passed a measure Thursday banning the procedure at 15 weeks.
The state Senate passed the legislation Tuesday, sending the 15-week abortion ban to the lower chamber for a vote.
The measure then passed the House 75-34.
Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican, is expected to sign the legislation.
“I have repeatedly said, I want Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child,” Bryant said in a statement before the House’s vote. “House Bill 1510 will help us achieve that goal, and I encourage the House to pass it and look forward to signing it.”
Once Bryant signs the bill into law, Mississippi will be the only state making abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy illegal.
The legislation makes two exceptions: if a woman’s life or “major bodily function” is endangered by the pregnancy, or if the fetus has a life-threatening condition that would prevent it from living outside of the womb.
Currently in Mississippi, as well as in 16 other states, abortions are banned at 20 weeks.
The legislation is likely to be challenged in court, as Diane Derzis, the owner of the state’s lone abortion clinic, has vowed to sue.
