On Tuesday, the Mississippi State Senate voted 40-6 to ban the so-called dilation and evacuation abortion procedure, also known as dismemberment abortions, which advocates such as Republican State Senator Joey Fillingane call cruel.
HB 519 would prohibit abortions in which a fetus is physically torn apart inside the womb, after which the parts are removed. The D&E procedure is common in second-trimester abortions. The bill’s only exception is for cases of irreversible physical harm to the mother.
The bill passed the state House 83-33 in February, and it now returns to the chamber to resolve differences between the two versions. It is expected to be signed by Mississippi’s pro-life governor, Phil Bryant.
Dr. Anthony Levatino, a former abortionist who performed over 1,200 abortions, describes the procedure in length as part of Live Action News’s Abortion Procedures project.
Abortion advocates have long taken issue with the phrase “dismemberment abortion.” However, “dismemberment” accurately describes the D&E procedure, which consists of pulling a fetus apart limb by limb in the womb, as confirmed both by Live Action’s Abortion Procedures series and by the National Abortion Federation’s own materials. Notably, however, NAF’s training graphics detailing the procedure falsely depict an empty womb:
