"The Last Abortion Clinic"

This November, the Supreme Court will take up its first major abortion case in five years: Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. This case will come before a changed court. But for Betty Thompson, a former abortion clinic director in Jackson, Mississippi, the concern is less about Ayotte and more that Roe v. Wade is simply becoming irrelevant as states pass hundreds of abortion regulations across the United States. " are going to chip away at Roe v. Wade until the law is on the books, but nobody will be able to access the service," she tells FRONTLINE. According to one abortion provider in the South, who prefers to remain anonymous: "The assault on abortion rights is very clever. It's very smart. And we are losing."

In the last two years, Mississippi has passed legislation on fetal homicide prosecution, new clinic regulations, requirements to report abortion complications, rights of conscience, and a law that would prohibit the state's last abortion clinic from offering abortions beyond the first trimester. Americans United for Life (AUL), the nation's oldest national pro-life organization, refers to this as the "Mississippi Miracle." "We're sending a very clear message that we do want to protect the unborn," says Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck. "That's why we've passed the legislation that we have, and it's passed overwhelmingly. It's bipartisan support. It's Democrats and Republicans. ... It's the House of Representatives and the Senate. Mississippi is truly pro-life."

With an ever-increasing number of state abortion regulations and a steady decline in abortion providers, the procedure, while still legal, has become daunting and expensive in many states. In Mississippi, Medicaid offers support for women seeking to continue with an unintended pregnancy, but no state funds or facilities may be used for abortion services. In the last decade, all but one clinic providing pregnancy terminations in the state have closed. The last abortion clinic, in Jackson, is difficult to access for women outside the capital who do not own a car, who have limited funds for gas or who cannot easily take time off from work or child care responsibilities. "It's like even before Roe v. Wade for these poor women," says Pat White, a nurse-midwife who has been working in the Mississippi Delta for decades. "We are making decisions for them. These women have no option except to continue with the pregnancy, whether they can afford it, or whether or not it's wanted, or whether or not they can emotionally provide for the child."

But Americans United for Life considers Mississippi an example for the nation. In fact, the organization's motto is "Changing Law to Protect Human Life, State by State." "Mississippi has an impressive track record," AUL senior legal counsel Clarke Forsythe tells FRONTLINE. "Our goal is to see that other states pass the type of legislation that Mississippi has passed over the past decade, and we see a lot of legislative activity. Legislators and governors across the country in many different states are looking at the same type of common sense legislation that Mississippi has passed."

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, FRONTLINE will produce a documentary special that investigates the political storm surrounding the devastation of America's Gulf Coast. Veteran FRONTLINE producer/reporter Martin Smith will lead a team to ask hard questions about the decisions leading up to the disaster and beyond.