Mississippi, whose 2007 trigger law on abortion went into effect with the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, took action because people there "want us to protect life," GOP Gov. Tate Reeves said on Newsmax Thursday.
"I'm very pleased to serve as the governor of the state of Mississippi because our people are God-fearing people," the Mississippi Republican commented on Newsmax's "National Report." "The reason that the elected officials were able to pass this legislation and ultimately defend it in court is that this is what our people in Mississippi want. They want us to protect life. They want us to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves."
Reeves noted that when the state's trigger law passed, the state had a Democrat as speaker of the House and another who was chair of the Public Health Committee.
"That tells you how far Democrats have gone to the left on this issue in America in just a short 15 years," said Reeves.
The trigger law required that the state's attorney general certify the law if Roe was overturned. That happened Monday, said Reeves, and the abortion ban will go into effect a week later, or on July 7.
The case behind the Roe overturn, Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization, originated in Mississippi, and already, Jackson Women's Health Organization has sued the state, claiming the right to abortion.
"I'm hopeful that our Supreme Court in Mississippi will hear that case very quickly and throw it out as the nonsense that it is and that our trigger law will go into effect by next Thursday," said Reeves.
Once Mississippi's abortion law takes effect, the state's Medical Licenses Board will be responsible for ensuring that all practicing physicians in the state, including people who practice through telemedicine, comply with state law, said Reeves.
"Should any physician violate our laws, they're going to lose their medical license in our state, and they'll have an inability to practice here in Mississippi," said Reeves.
The governor added that he'd tell critics of the state's abortion laws that people in his state "believe that is a child in that womb, and that child does not have the ability to stand up for themselves."
"That's why people like myself and others in the pro-life movement have to stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves," he concluded.
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