Democrats, Activists 'Infuriated' as Hood Defends Six-Week Abortion Ban
JACKSON — Abortion-rights activists and some Democratic leaders are unhappy with Mississippi's leading Democratic candidate for governor, state Attorney General Jim Hood, after his office filed a brief in defense of the state's new six-week abortion ban.
If the law survives a court challenge, it would require doctors to check for a fetal heartbeat before performing an abortion, and all abortions would be banned in cases where a heartbeat is detectable. That usually happens around six weeks—before most women even know they are pregnant.
"We should be able to expect better from a Democrat that claims to represent the people," activist Derenda Hancock said in a statement to the Jackson Free Press on Tuesday.
Hancock is an abortion-rights activist who oversees a group of "clinic escorts" who help women avoid protesters as they arrive at the Jackson Women's Health Organization—Mississippi's only abortion clinic.
Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2019/apr/25/democrats-activists-upset-hood-defends-six-week-ab/
