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Q&A: Planned Parenthood Director Tyler Harden talks about the work of pro-choice organizations in Mississippi post-Dobbs

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Q&A: Planned Parenthood Director Tyler Harden talks about the work of pro-choice organizations in Mississippi post-Dobbs

Last month, the Mississippi Abortion Access Coalition launched an Abortion Patient Bill of Rights designed to educate Mississippi constituents on their abortion options post-Dobbs.

Tyler Harden, a longtime activist and organizer, is the Mississippi director of Planned Parenthood Southeast โ€“ one of a dozen that joined forces to create the coalition, dedicated to ensuring Mississippians have access to safe and legal abortion.

The Abortion Patient Bill of Rights is intended to address misinformation around abortion and was modeled after the Know Your Rights Campaign created by American Civil Liberties Union and other Black Lives Matter groups, according to Harden.

The bill outlines, for constituents, what they can do in Mississippi and where they can go out of state to seek abortion help, and for health providers, what they can say in Mississippi and where they can direct out of state.

This comes after Lynn Fitch told the Biden administration in a letter back in July that Mississippi authorities need access to information about residents who obtain abortions out of state.

Harden spoke with Mississippi on the state of Planned Parenthood post-Dobbs in Mississippi.

Mississippi Today: From where you’re standing, what has the past year looked like post-Dobbs?

Harden: The past year has been one filled with confusion for a lot of people. Through my work in MAAC (Mississippi Abortion Access Coalition) and with PPSE (Planned Parenthood Southeast), we found that a lot of people didn’t know that even if abortion is illegal in Mississippi, with two exceptions, they could still travel out of state and care.

So, for a lot of people there’s confusion about what they can and can’t do, what they can and can’t say. And we also, as advocates and activists, have had confusion, as well โ€“ just a lot of confusion about โ€˜how can we show up for people without putting them at risk?’ and things like that.

We have grown to a place now, through my work at Planned Parenthood, I’ve been able to see people grow to a place where this is more real for them. They’re understanding the tangible outcomes of what it means to not have abortion access.

We’ve talked to people who have shared stories about having to, unfortunately, have stillbirths, because they weren’t able to access abortion care even though the and the care providers said that they needed it. So, you know, this isn’t theory anymore for folks, it’s really something tangible that they can see and experience.

MT: You’re the Mississippi state director at Planned Parenthood. What does care at Planned Parenthood look like post-Dobbs?

Harden: Care in Mississippi is really centered on continuing the work of making sure people have access to contraceptives and information they need to plan their health outcomes.

We are now a Title 10 provider, so for the first time in our history of Mississippi, our Hattiesburg health center is able to check in Title 10 patients, to provide even lower-cost health services.

We’re also able to check in with teens and young folks in a different way than we had been. Mississippi has a statute that doesn’t allow teens to access contraceptive care without the permission of their parents โ€“ unless they go to a Title 10 provider. And so now that we’re a Title 10 provider, we’re able to connect with young people in a different way.

In the coming year, we’ll be able to have dating ultrasounds, so that people who may need access to abortion care are able to know exactly how far along they are in their pregnancy, and be able to travel out of state, get the information they need, and be able to access the care that they need.

MT: The Abortion Patient Bill of Rights launched last month. What is the main problem the initiative is designed to address?

Harden: Misinformation. It was modeled after the Know Your Rights Campaign started by ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and other folks leading the Black Lives Matter movement. But there was a lot of confusion, again, about what people could do and what people could say. And especially for Hispanic communities and young people in particular, they’ve been inundated with false claims telling them that the questions and information they wanted to have access to they no longer could. We wanted to give people something a little bit more digestible and easier to read and understand.

MT: How are you seeing misinformation or lack of access to information about abortion negatively impacting people in Mississippi?

Harden: We’ve seen what happens when people aren’t given correct information or accurate information. The Times article that covered the seventh-grader in the Delta who needed care. We know that when people don’t have access to what they need that they aren’t able to make decisions and healthy lives, and we know that Mississippians know how to take care of themselves.

MT: What has been the biggest misconception or confusion Mississippians have had over abortion in the last year?

Harden: Questions about whether abortion is banned throughout the entire country have been very common, and also questions about the different timelines and where their closest provider who provides abortion care โ€“ things around that have been very confusing for people.

Also, being able to expose people to information like abortion funds that are accessible, different hotlines that they’re able to call and get information about any legal concerns they may have. And in the case of networking, sometimes linking them to trusted organizations that can help them navigate what it means to learn more about self-managed abortions. So, the confusion has also offered a highway for us to give probably more information than people anticipated.

MT: Who is being hit hardest in Mississippi with misinformation about abortion?

Harden: We know that the Hispanic population is being hit super hard. We also know that young people are being hit super hard with misinformation, on top of not even getting proper information about sex and sex education in their schools โ€“ so, misinformation on top of information that they didn’t already receive.

And the Spanish-speaking population oftentimes is ignored in our stateโ€ฆso we’ve done a lot of work to make sure that our technical advice and all of that material is translated for folks who are in the Spanish-speaking community. And also making it digestible, accessible, for people who are young or on college campuses or grew up in parts of Mississippi where they didn’t have proper sex education โ€“ which is the majority of us.

MT: Are you seeing those who fall under the state ban’s exceptions โ€“ to preserve the of the pregnant person or when the pregnancy was caused by rape โ€“ able to utilize the exceptions, or are those folks getting left behind?

Harden: Those folks are really getting left behind. The state purposely doesn’t make that statute easy to comprehend. So, a lot of times healthcare providers and their legal teams aren’t able to understand what they can and can’t do, and on the other side, they also aren’t making (the exceptions) known among everyday constituents.

And that’s intentional, it’s a fear tactic. So, people usually don’t know about those exceptions and that’s where we really dug in and made sure that we could put this as plainly as possible so that if you did fall under one of those exceptions, or knew someone, or may in the future fall under one of those exceptions, you’ll know what it means and you’ll be able to access care.

MT: What message would you give to Mississippians who are maybe struggling to grapple with the repercussions of the ruling?

Harden: We have always known how to take care of each other as Mississippians. I would encourage them to stay in it for the long-haul. It took us 50 years to get to this point, so it may take us even longer to get to somewhere better. But, we’ll definitely get there and Mississippi will lead the way.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1875

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-11-02 07:00:00

Nov. 2, 1875

Pictured here are U.S. Sen. Hiram Revels of Mississippi, left, with six Black members of the U.S. House, Ben J.S. Turner of Alabama, Josiah T. Walls of Florida, Jefferson H. Long of Georgia, and Robert C. De Large, Joseph H. Rainy and R. Brown Elliot, all of South Carolina. Credit: Library of

The first Mississippi Plan, which included violence against Black Americans to keep them from , resulted in huge victories for white Democrats across the

A year earlier, the Republican Party had carried a majority of the votes, and many Black had been elected to office. In the wake of those victories, white leagues arose to Republican rule and began to use widespread violence and fraud to recapture control of the state. 

Over several days in September 1875, about 50 Black Mississippians were killed along with white supporters, a school teacher who worked with the Black community in Clinton. 

The governor asked President Ulysses Grant to intervene, but he decided against intervening, and the violence and fraud continued. Other Southern states soon copied the Mississippi plan. 

John R. Lynch, the last Black congressman for Mississippi until the 1986 election of Mike Espy, wrote: โ€œIt was a well-known fact that in 1875 nearly every Democratic club in the State was converted into an armed military company.โ€ 

A federal grand jury concluded: โ€œFraud, intimidation, and violence perpetrated at the last election is without a parallel in the annals of history.โ€

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Mississippi Todayโ€™s NewsMatch Campaign is Here: Support Journalism that Strengthens Mississippi

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mississippitoday.org – Mary Margaret White – 2024-11-01 12:34:00

High-quality journalism like ours depends on reader ; without it, we simply couldn’t exist. That’s why we’re proud to join the NewsMatch movement, a national initiative aimed at raising $50 million for nonprofit newsrooms that serve communities like ours here in Mississippi, where access to reliable information has often been limited.

In a time when trusted journalists and media sources are disappearing, we believe the stakes couldn’t be higher. Without on-the-ground, trustworthy , civic engagement suffers, accountability falters and corruption often goes unaddressed. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Here at Mississippi we act as watchdogs, holding those in power accountable, and as storytellers, giving a platform to voices that have been ignored for too long. And we’re committed to keeping our stories free for everyone because information should be accessible when it’s needed most.

Why NewsMatch and Why Now?

This year’s NewsMatch campaign runs from November 1 through December 31, giving us a special opportunity to make each dollar you give go even further. Through matching funds provided by local foundations like the Maddox Foundation, and national funders like the MacArthur Foundation, the Rural Partner Fund and the Hewlett Foundation, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar up to $1,000. Plus, if 100 new donors join us, we’ll unlock an additional $2,000 in funding, bringing us even closer to our goal. Boiled down: your donation goes four times as far.

Every dollar raised strengthens our ability to serve you with fact-based journalism on issues that impact your everyday โ€”whether it’s covering local election issues or reporting on decisions affecting schools, safety and economic growth in Mississippi. Your support makes it possible for us to stay rooted in the community, offering nuanced perspectives that help understand and engage with what’s happening around them.

Special Event: โ€œFreedom of the Press: Southern Challenges, National Impactโ€

As part of the campaign, we’re to host a special virtual event, โ€œ of the Press: Southern Challenges, National Impact.โ€ Join Deep South Today newsrooms Mississippi Today and Verite News, along with national experts on press freedom, for an in-depth discussion on the unique challenges facing journalists in the Deep South. This one-hour will explore the critical role local newsrooms play in holding power accountable, highlighting recent restrictions on press freedom such as Louisiana’s โ€œ25-foot ,โ€ which affects journalists’ ability to report vital news.

We’ll examine what’s at stake if local newsrooms lose press freedoms and will discuss how you, as members of the public, can help protect it. This event is open to Mississippi Today and Verite News members as a special thank-you for supporting local journalism and standing with us in this mission. Donate today to RSVP!

How You Can Help

Make Your Gift Today

Together, let’s ensure Mississippi has the robust, independent journalism it needs to thrive. Your support fuels our ability to expose the truth, elevate marginalized stories and build a more informed Mississippi.

Thank you for believing in the power of journalism to strengthen the communities we loveโ€”not only during election season but year-round. With your help, we’ll keep Mississippi informed, engaged and connected for generations to .

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Hinds County loses fight over control of jail

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mississippitoday.org – Mina Corpuz – 2024-11-01 12:57:00

The sheriff and Board of Supervisors have lost an appeal to prevent control of its jail by a court-appointed receiver and an injunction that orders the county to address unconstitutional conditions in the facility.   

Two members from a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with decisions by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves to appoint a receiver to oversee day-to-day jail operations and keep parts of a previous consent decree in place to fix constitutional violations, a failure to protect detainees from harm. 

However, the appeals court called the new injunction โ€œoverly broadโ€ in one area and is asking Reeves to reevaluate the scope of the receivership.

The injunction retained provisions relating to sexual assault, but the appeals court found the provisions were tied to general risk of violence at the jail, rather than specific concerns about the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The court reversed those points of the injunction and remanded them to the district court so the provisions can be

The court also found that the receiver should not have authority over budgeting and staff salaries for the Raymond Detention Center, which could be seen as โ€œfederal intrusion into RDC’s budgetโ€ โ€“ especially if the receivership has no end date. 

Hinds County Board of Supervisors President Robert Graham was not immediately available for comment Friday. Sheriff Tyree Jones declined to comment because he has not yet read the entire court opinion.ย 

In 2016, the Department of Justice sued Hinds County alleging a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conditions in four of its detention facilities. The county and DOJ entered a consent decree with stipulated changes to make for the jail system, which people facing trial. 

โ€œBut the decree did not resolve the dispute; to the contrary, a yearslong battle ensued in the district court as to whether and to what extent the County was complying with the consent decree,โ€ the appeals court wrote.  

This prompted Reeves to hold the county in contempt of court twice in 2022. 

The county argued it was doing its best to comply with the consent decree and spending millions to fix the jail. One of the they offered was building a new jail, which is now under construction in

The county had a to further prove itself during three weeks of hearings held in February 2022. Focuses included the of seven detainees in 2021 from assaults and suicide and issues with staffing, contraband, old and use of force. 

Seeing partial compliance by the county, in April 2022 Reeves dismissed the consent decree and issued a new, shorter injunction focused on the jail and removed some provisions from the decree.

But Reeves didn’t see improvement from there. In July 2022, he ordered receivership and wrote that it was needed because of an ongoing risk of unconstitutional harm to jail detainees and staff. 

The county pushed back against federal oversight and filed an appeal, arguing that there isn’t sufficient evidence to show that there are current and ongoing constitutional violations at the jail and that the county has acted with deliberate indifference. 

Days before the appointed receiver was set to take control of the jail at the beginning of 2023, the 5th Circuit Court ordered a stay to halt that receiver’s work. The new injunction ordered by Reeves was also stayed, and a three-person jail monitoring team that had been in place for years also was ordered to stop work. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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