No surprise here: Mississippi, one of the most conservative states on abortion, also provides the least in the way of services for pregnant mothers and newborns
I’d be a lot more likely to believe pro-lifers when they say their primary concern is “the precious baby” if not for the fact that so many of them also support draconian financial policies when it comes to pregnant mothers and, eventually, their newborn babies.
The people at Pro Publica take a look at this phenomenon that sort of proves that, for many socalled “pro life” people, the point is Republican politics and not the baby they claim to love so much:
When it comes to reproductive care, Mississippi has a dual distinction. The state spawned the law that likely will lead to the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade. It is also unique among Deep South states for doing the least to provide health care coverage to low-income people who have given birth.
Mississippians on Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, lose coverage a mere 60 days after childbirth. That’s often well before the onset of postpartum depression or life-threatening, birth-related infections: A 2020 study found that people racked up 81% of their postpartum expenses between 60 days and a year after delivery. And Mississippi’s own Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that 37% of pregnancy-related deaths between 2013 and 2016 occurred more than six weeks postpartum.
Every other state in the Deep South has extended or is in the process of extending Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum. Wyoming and South Dakota are the only other states where trigger laws will outlaw nearly all abortions if Roe falls and where lawmakers haven’t expanded Medicaid or extended postpartum coverage.
Abortion is complicated for me. I really want to know at what point the fetus become sentient and is able to feel pain.
But I have a difficult time believing things that come out of the mouths of many pro-lifers because so much of it is right-wing gobbledygook rather than genuine concern for babies.
