Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s conservative bona fides are beyond dispute. Her office successfully convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the “egregiously wrong” 1973 Roe vs. Wade abortion ruling. She may well be a hero to many in the pro-life movement.
Presumably many of the pro-life Republicans in the Mississippi Legislature, specifically in the House of Representatives, value Fitch’s opinion on political issues. So hopefully some of them noticed on Sunday, when she had an opinion column in the Jackson Clarion Ledger in favor of extending Medicaid coverage to new mothers for a full year.
Fitch’s column was well reasoned, to the point — and frankly a surprise. The most legitimate criticism of many people opposed to abortion is their failure to acknowledge that being pro-life doesn’t end when a baby is born. That’s actually when being pro-life begins.
What is the point, after all, of supporting the right of a baby to be born if you are not prepared to invest in mothers who may not want the child, or who may not be able to afford proper care? In the wealthiest nation in the world, it is sinful to consign a mother and infant to an impoverished situation by saying, “Nice job with the delivery. Beautiful, healthy child. Good luck the rest of the way.”
Mississippi already has too many children whose parents are indifferent to their needs, or at the least unable to provide the emotional or financial support to help them thrive. This is the root of virtually every problem in our state — our low education results, our below-average income standards, our crime statistics — and the list is probably a lot longer.
A number of Republican legislators, particularly in the Senate, have recognized that some women need more help with a newborn. In 2022 the Senate approved extending Medicaid coverage for these women for 12 months after birth. But it died in the House, where Speaker Philip Gunn is among those resolutely opposed to any Medicaid expansion.
Here’s what Fitch wrote:
“For women who find themselves in a position of having to raise a child without steady income, without family support, without job skills or education that offers them a pathway to a better future, knowing that their access to health care is secure should not be discounted. It frees up income to pay for child care or other necessities that allow their families to survive. It allows them to pursue the upskilling they and their families need to thrive.”
Mississippians are kidding themselves if they think such women don’t exist in this state — probably in higher numbers than many of us think. They need help.
The House needs to get past its Medicare resistance or Obamacare phobia, whichever one applies, and spend a little government money to help these women.
“Supporting them is not only the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do,” the attorney general added. She is exactly right.
Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
