On Thursday, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a bill banning most abortions once a baby’s heartbeat can be detected in the womb.
It’s one of the strictest abortion laws in the country and will make it illegal for women to terminate their pregnancy after about six weeks gestation.
Mississippi’s bill allows for exceptions in the case that the mother’s life or a “major bodily function” is endangered. Doctors who are caught executing abortions after the fetal heartbeat is detectable may face losing their license.
Both the Mississippi Senate and House denied allowances for abortions in pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
The conservative state is only the latest in a number of Republican-led states who have considered “heartbeat bills” this year.
The governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, signed a similar bill last spring, and Kentucky followed suit in February. While Governor John Kasich vetoed Ohio’s “heartbeat bill” during his term, the new Governor, Mike DeWine, supports it. The Ohio Senate passed the measure just last week.