The Senate floor debate was sometimes gruesome and mirrored the bill’s language. Medically called “dilation & evacuation”, the abortion method involves tearing the fetus from one limb to the next before it is removed from the uterus. The bill’s sponsors, the Mississippi Right to Life group, refer to it as “dismemberment aborts.” The bill was passed by forty-six senators (Democratic and Republican), with six opposing. The Senate amended the House bill. It now goes back to the House for consideration, and possibly a House/Senate conference panel. The bill was questioned by several senators, including Sen. Willie Simmons (D-Cleveland) and Sen. Hob Ryan (D-Amory). Fillingane stated that three other states, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Kansas, have also passed similar legislation. None of these states has gone to federal court over those laws. Surprised even by Senate staffers, the Senate skipped nine bills from the agenda Tuesday at 6 p.m. in order to open debate on the abortion bill. The Senate passed 17 bills Tuesday. All of them were general bills from Congress. The Senate passed a bill to allow guns in churches and provide legal protection for church members who own guns. The Senate also passed other notable bills: * A bill to establish a policy for overseeing administration of failing schools that have received an “F” rating for at least two consecutive years. (House Bill 989) * A bill that would extend the state’s current sex-related/abstinence education and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Task Force for four more years. * A bill to create Act to Restore Hope, Opportunity and Prosperity for Everyone. This bill would also create the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit within Attorney General’s Office. House Bill 1116) * This bill prohibits the harvesting of oysters in public water at night. House Bill 815) * A bill that mandates municipal clerks to be appointed, instead of elected. (House bill 130) To support this work, you can make a recurring gift today to celebrate our Spring Member Drive. This will allow us to continue important work such as this one.