Mississippi Gov. Signs Bill Outlawing Abortion of Down Syndrome Babies



Mississippi's Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has signed a new bill into law that would protect down syndrome babies from abortion.

According to Faithwire, the Down Syndrome Information Act, also known as Hudson's Law, requires doctors to provide educational information to parents of preborn children who are newly diagnosed with Down Syndrome.

The bill passed with wide bipartisan support in both state legislative chambers.

The name behind Hudson's law was taken from Hudson Hartman, a two-year-old Mississippian who has Down Syndrome. Last summer, Gov. Reeves signed another bill, the Life Equality Act, into law banning discrimination abortions based on race, sex, disability, or genetic makeup. At the time, Husdon and his mom both served as lobbyists for the legislation.

The recent signing of the legislation was praised by pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List.

"We thank Governor Reeves for signing Hudson's Law and for his strong pro-life leadership in Mississippi," SBA List State Policy Director Sue Liebel said in a statement published last Thursday. "This law goes hand in hand with the Life Equality Act and will serve as an important check to ensure that doctors are empowering parents of children who have Down syndrome with accurate information and resources."

"Parents deserve to know that 99 percent of people with Down syndrome live happy and fulfilled lives," she continued. "No child should be deprived of the right to be born, especially due to a disability - this is no less than modern-day eugenics."

Liebel also thanked State Senator Jeremy England and State Representative Jansen Owen "for championing this legislation".

"Their leadership on behalf of Mississippi's most vulnerable will save lives," she concluded.

In a post on Twitter, Gov. Reeves responded to the statement by SBA List writing, "protecting the sanctity of life is among the most important things we as believers are called to do - "‘Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.' Deut. 30:19."

According to polling conducted earlier this year, 70 percent of Americans, including 56 percent of those who identify as pro-choice, 59 percent of Democrats, and 70 percent of Independents, oppose abortion in light of the probability that an unborn child may have Down syndrome.

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