MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, removing a U.S. constitutional right to an abortion, Mississippi governor Tate Reeves has been sounding like the most compassionate person in America. Of course, Reeves cannot hide his elation over the court’s decision – particularly since it stemmed from a Mississippi case, and has made him the darling of right-wing conservatives and anti-abortion activists nationwide.
But every time the Republican governor takes a victory lap, he is careful to talk about his concern for pregnant women who, as of Thursday, can no longer get an abortion in his state. His latest comments came after a state judge Tuesday refused to temporarily block Mississippi’s trigger law that now bans most abortions. The only exceptions are if the woman’s life is in danger – or if the pregnancy is the result of a rape that is reported to law enforcement.
Reeves now says repeatedly that the state must prove to women with unwanted pregnancies that they will get the love and support they need.
But Mississippi ranks at or near the bottom in public healthcare. It is one of 12 states that stubbornly refuses to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act – which leaves more than 200,000 working Mississippians without healthcare coverage. No doubt some in that 200,000 will now be forced bring an unwanted pregnancy to term.
That’s the Mississippi definition of compassion – according to Governor Reeves.