To: Tate Reeves, Lieutenant Governor, The Mississippi State House, The Mississippi State Senate, and Governor Phil Bryant
A Resolution to Establish a Bill of Rights for the Reproductive Health of Mississippi’s Women and...
We, support the enactment of a statewide resolution to establish a Bill of Rights for the reproductive health of Mississippi’s women and girls as stated herein:
WHEREAS, Mississippi’s women and girls do not have unfettered access, without undue government interference to reproductive health care; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi has unacceptably high rates of poverty, teen pregnancy, maternal and infant death, placing last or near the bottom of every positive indicator nationwide; and
WHEREAS, Policies of abstinence only sex education, restricted access to health insurance, reduction in public benefit programs to individuals and families in need, restricted access to reproductive health, including abortion care and contraception, has created these problems with a generational cycle; and
WHEREAS, Nearly a quarter, 24.2% of Mississippians live in poverty (highest in US), Mississippi has the 2nd highest rate of teen pregnancy in the US, the highest teen birth rate in the US, the highest rate of infant mortality in the US, the 6th highest rate of maternal death in the US, and the highest rate of STD/STIs in the US, which all hinders the educational, financial, and social advancements of Mississippi’s women and girls and therefore the entire state; and
WHEREAS, Personhood initiatives and other discriminatory legislation targeted against infertility clients, doctors and facilities, prohibits embryo cryopreservation, and threatens the family planning options of those affected by infertility by misguidedly granting full citizenship or "personhood" status to an embryo; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi’s extreme lack of ready access to affordable and convenient reproductive health care, including only 1 abortion clinic in the state, serving 84 counties with increasing governmental restrictions only exacerbates these problems; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, the Mississippi State Legislature immediately implement, evidence-based, medically accurate, age appropriate, comprehensive sex education in every school district in the state, immediately repeal any laws causing undue restrictions to reproductive health care, including those unjustly targeting abortion providers, access to contraception, and other areas of family planning, ensure that every pregnant woman in the state of Mississippi has access to affordable pre and post-natal care regardless of status, especially income and age, public benefit programs are fully funded and accessible; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the state government will no longer unfairly target the rights of women to make their own health care decisions for themselves and their families and will simply trust women to do what is right for their individual circumstances.
WHEREAS, Mississippi’s women and girls do not have unfettered access, without undue government interference to reproductive health care; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi has unacceptably high rates of poverty, teen pregnancy, maternal and infant death, placing last or near the bottom of every positive indicator nationwide; and
WHEREAS, Policies of abstinence only sex education, restricted access to health insurance, reduction in public benefit programs to individuals and families in need, restricted access to reproductive health, including abortion care and contraception, has created these problems with a generational cycle; and
WHEREAS, Nearly a quarter, 24.2% of Mississippians live in poverty (highest in US), Mississippi has the 2nd highest rate of teen pregnancy in the US, the highest teen birth rate in the US, the highest rate of infant mortality in the US, the 6th highest rate of maternal death in the US, and the highest rate of STD/STIs in the US, which all hinders the educational, financial, and social advancements of Mississippi’s women and girls and therefore the entire state; and
WHEREAS, Personhood initiatives and other discriminatory legislation targeted against infertility clients, doctors and facilities, prohibits embryo cryopreservation, and threatens the family planning options of those affected by infertility by misguidedly granting full citizenship or "personhood" status to an embryo; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi’s extreme lack of ready access to affordable and convenient reproductive health care, including only 1 abortion clinic in the state, serving 84 counties with increasing governmental restrictions only exacerbates these problems; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, the Mississippi State Legislature immediately implement, evidence-based, medically accurate, age appropriate, comprehensive sex education in every school district in the state, immediately repeal any laws causing undue restrictions to reproductive health care, including those unjustly targeting abortion providers, access to contraception, and other areas of family planning, ensure that every pregnant woman in the state of Mississippi has access to affordable pre and post-natal care regardless of status, especially income and age, public benefit programs are fully funded and accessible; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the state government will no longer unfairly target the rights of women to make their own health care decisions for themselves and their families and will simply trust women to do what is right for their individual circumstances.
Why is this important?
Mississippi ranks at the bottom of nearly every positive indicator when it comes to a well functioning, productive, prosperous, and equal society for all. This must come to an end. The unjust and unequal treatment of Mississippi's women is directly tied to this very unfortunate reality. Our elected officials must take swift and decisive action to ensure that Mississippi's women and girls are treated as full and equal citizens of our state. It is time for Mississippi to enter the 21st Century, demonstrating we have moved beyond our often difficult past and into a bright and positive future we know our state can achieve. Supporting the adoption of the above resolution is critical to achieving these goals.
Mississippi Ranked as the Worst State for Women in the US:
Time Magazine:
"And, at last, we come to the worst of all U.S. states for women to live in. Perhaps the female citizenry of Mississippi already suspects this, since 22% of women are impoverished, they earn the lowest average wages in the country, with a median income of $28,879, and college-graduation rates are grim at only 21%. Also, while 68% of Mississippi women are overweight or obese, nearly a quarter of the state’s women have health insurance. With such a depressing state of affairs, is it really any wonder that Mississippi has never had a woman in Congress or as governor — and the state legislature is only 15% female?"
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/23/top-5-worst-u-s-states-for-women/#ixzz2iJi5KW9T
Mississippi Ranked as the Worst State for Women in the US:
Time Magazine:
"And, at last, we come to the worst of all U.S. states for women to live in. Perhaps the female citizenry of Mississippi already suspects this, since 22% of women are impoverished, they earn the lowest average wages in the country, with a median income of $28,879, and college-graduation rates are grim at only 21%. Also, while 68% of Mississippi women are overweight or obese, nearly a quarter of the state’s women have health insurance. With such a depressing state of affairs, is it really any wonder that Mississippi has never had a woman in Congress or as governor — and the state legislature is only 15% female?"
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/23/top-5-worst-u-s-states-for-women/#ixzz2iJi5KW9T