Mississippi down to one abortion clinic
With the help of the legislature, pro-life activists in Mississippi have whittled down the number of abortion clinics in that state to one -- and they're closing in on it:
For both sides in the national debate over abortion, Mississippi has become Exhibit A: It is widely considered the state with the most thorough arsenal of laws, policies and public pressure aimed at curtailing the procedure. There used to be seven abortion clinics in the state; now it is the most populous of a handful of states with only one.
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Abortions reached a peak in Mississippi in 1991, when 8,814 were reported. The number dropped to 3,605 in 2002, the last year for which figures are available, producing one of the lowest abortion rates in the country — less than one-third the national rate.
Many hard-to-measure factors may have contributed to the drop, such as more effective use of birth control or an upsurge of Mississippi women getting abortions in other states. But activists on both sides believe the strict laws and community pressure have had a significant impact, along with the efforts by anti-abortion groups to publicize the checkered legal backgrounds of some abortion providers.
Even if we assume, arguendo, that abortion is a constitutional right, it's hardly a celebratory one, and there's nothing wrong with people discouraging others from exercising it. After all, even former President Clinton used to say that abortion should be safe, legal and rare.