Bill to ban most abortions in Miss. advances

JACKSON, Miss. -- A House committee has voted to ban most abortions in Mississippi, which already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country.

The bill, passed by the House Public Health Committee on Tuesday, would allow abortion only to save the pregnant woman's life. It would make no exception in cases of rape or incest. The bill now goes to the full House, which could vote next week, and then to the Senate.

South Dakota legislators passed a bill last week intended to provoke a court showdown on the legality of abortion.

The legislator who introduced the measure in Mississippi, Steve Holland, said he had acted because he was tired of piecemeal attempts to add abortion restrictions year after year.

Holland said he has voted for some abortion restrictions, and against others. ''I have a strong dilemma within myself on this," Holland said. ''I can only impregnate. I can't get pregnant myself."

Mississippi already requires a 24-hour waiting period and counseling for all abortions, plus the consent of both parents for minors who seek the procedure.

Governor Haley Barbour, a Republican, favors restrictions on abortion, but he has not spoken directly about the current legislation.

The state has one abortion clinic, in Jackson, and its leaders plan to fight if more restrictions are imposed.

''We're realists. We know we're in a state where the Legislature is antichoice," said Susan Hill, who is president of the National Women's Health Organization, which runs the clinic.

The South Dakota legislation was sent Tuesday to Governor Mike Rounds, a Republican, and he has 15 days to act. Rounds has said he was inclined to sign the bill into law.