Story highlights The law would be the most restrictive in the country

Women who violate the law would face criminal charges

Opponents say the measure is unconstitutional

(CNN) Mississippi's House of Representatives voted Thursday in favor of a bill that would prevent women from getting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The procedural vote moves the bill one step closer to becoming law in a state that already limits access to abortions.

House Bill 1510, known as the Gestational Age Act, was approved by the state Senate by a 35-14 vote on Tuesday. The House vote was 75-34 in favor. It will now be sent to Gov. Phil Bryant, who plans to sign the bill into law next week, his office said. The law would take effect immediately, making Mississippi the state with the most restrictive abortion law measured in weeks of pregnancy.

"As I have repeatedly said, I want Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child," Bryant said in a statement. "House Bill 1510 will help us achieve that goal, and I look forward to signing it."

Women who violate the law could face criminal charges. Doctors who perform abortions on women who are more than 15 weeks pregnant could lose their license to practice medicine and face other civil penalties.

It would not the first restriction placed on access to abortion in Mississippi. The state prevents women from getting abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless "the woman's life is endangered, her physical health is severely compromised or there is a lethal fetal anomaly," according to the Guttmacher Institute , a research and policy organization.

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