The Mississippi Republican Speaker of the House says there should be no exception to the state’s ban on abortion now that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the five-decade-old Roe v Wade ruling. Asked specifically about 12-year-old girls who are victims of incest, Speaker Philip Gunn repeatedly stated his “personal belief” is “life begins at conception.”
“What about the case of a 12-year-old girl who was molested by her father or uncle?” an Associated Press reporter, Emily Wagster Pettus, asked the Speaker on Friday, as the Mississippi Free Press reports.
Mississippi’s ban on abortion “does not include an exception for incest,” Gunn replied, as the Free Press’ Ashton Pittman reports. “I don’t know that that will be changed.”
Asked if “the Legislature should revisit” that part of the law, the Speaker responded, “Personally, no. I do not.”
“I believe life begins at conception. Every life is valuable. And those are my personal beliefs,” Speaker Gunn insisted.
Another reporter pressed Gunn further.
READ MORE: 13 Devastating Abortion Facts to Know If SCOTUS Overturns Roe v. Wade
“So that 12-year-old child molested by her family members should carry that pregnancy to term?” Daily Journal reporter Taylor Vance asked.
“That is my personal belief. I believe life begins at conception,” the Speaker repeated.
Gunn concluded by saying he did not want his remarks to overshadow the significance of the Supreme Court’s nearly unprecedented decision, reversing a civil right. He said members of the Mississippi House of Representatives were “going to celebrate that today.”
Watch the Speaker’s remarks below or at this link.