MISSISSIPPI: Mississippi moved a step closer on Tuesday to passing the United States’ most restrictive abortion law when a state Senate committee approved a bill banning most procedures after 15 weeks of gestation.
The measure, House Bill 1510, now heads to the full Senate after passage by the Public Health and Welfare Committee, Lt. Governor Tate Reeves said in a statement. Current state law bans abortion at 20 weeks after conception.
A vote is expected in the Republican-controlled Senate by March 7, a spokeswoman for Reeves said by phone. The bill passed the state House of Representatives earlier this month.
“I appreciate the work of the committee and look forward to seeing our state continue to lead the way in protecting the lives of unborn children,” said Reeves, a Republican who presides over the Senate.
Republican Governor Phil Bryant told the Mississippi Today website after passage in the Republican-controlled House this month that if the Senate approved the measure he would sign it.
A representative for Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, could not be reached for comment.
Seventeen states ban abortion at about 20 weeks after fertilization or its equivalent of 22 weeks after the woman’s last menstrual period, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which opposes abortion limits.
The Mississippi bill includes an exception in the case of severe fetal abnormality or a medical emergency, which it defines as a threat to the woman’s life or a serious risk of impairing a major bodily function.
Felicia Brown-Williams, the Mississippi state director for Planned Parenthood Southeast, has told Mississippi Today the proposed ban was unconstitutional and bad policy.
The US Supreme Court legalized abortion in its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. It has banned prohibiting abortion before the fetus is able to live outside the womb, usually seen at about 20 weeks of gestation.
The Guttmacher Institute said last month that about 926,200 US abortions were performed in 2014, down 12 percent from 2011.
Americans tend to split roughly down the middle on abortion access, with 49 percent saying they supported it and 46 percent saying they opposed it in a 2017 Gallup poll. (Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington Editing by Leslie Adler)
Mississippi moves closer to banning abortions after 15 weeks
Mississippi moves closer to banning abortions after 15 weeks
Chef serves up a taste of Spain at Ithra Cultural Days in Saudi Arabia
DHAHRAN: Among the attractions of the Ithra Cultural Days: Spain at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), visitors can try a tantalizing selection of Spanish foods — none more renowned than its famous paella.
Arab News spoke with chef Jose Zafra at the event, which runs until Jan. 31, who flew in from Spain to offer a taste of his homeland to the people of Saudi Arabia.
A “master rice cook, paella researcher and promoter,” according to his business card, his logo is even designed around the recognizable cooking pan and the phrase “Pasion por la paella,” or “Passion for paella.”
“That's why the pan is round because people get around and eat all together — to share culture and passion and life,” Zafra told Arab News as foodies lined up behind him, eager to try a plateful.
“It’s not just a food. It’s a link, a connection. Paella is the symbol of unity and sharing. And people now are going to try it — authentic Spanish paella in Saudi Arabia.”
The word “paella” comes from the Latin “patella,” meaning pan.
In Spanish, it refers both to the rice dish itself and the pan in which it is cooked.
Paella was introduced to Spain during Moorish rule. It originated in Valencia, on the country’s eastern coast, as a rural peasant dish that was cooked by farm workers over open fires using local ingredients. Over time, the dish’s popularity spread and other versions evolved, for example featuring seafood and meat.
It is different to Saudi Arabia’s kabsa, a communal dish which similarly uses rice and meat. Kabsa is cooked in a deep pot to ensure the rice stays soft and aromatic from the meaty broth, whereas paella uses a wide, shallow pan to fully absorb flavors evenly, often creating a prized crispy layer at the bottom.
Visitors to Ithra’s Culture Days can enjoy the flavors of Spain made with a sprinkling of local love — true to the origins of the dish.
Find the scoops of Spanish joy near the food truck area and try chicken paella, seafood paella —or both! You will see the signs offering a plate, at SR35 ($9) for chicken and SR40 for seafood, or let your nose lead you there.
Zafra concluded: “The chicken is from here, the seafood is from here — and the passion, well, that is from Spain.”
