Mississippi’s abortion “trigger” ban —which makes abortion illegal in the state except to save the life of the pregnant person, or in cases of rape or incest that have been reported to law enforcement—has been in effect since June 24, 2022. 

In 2007, the Mississippi legislature passed an abortion “trigger” ban (Miss. Code Ann. § 41-41-45), designed to go into effect immediately if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 

The Mississippi Attorney General certified the ban on June 27, 2022, three days after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. The Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners immediately filed a lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s ban at the Hinds County Chancery Court. The lawsuit also asked the court to block enforcement of Mississippi’s six-week abortion ban, which was passed in 2019.  

The lawsuit argued that the two bans violate the Mississippi Constitution, which guarantees the right to abortion independent of the federal constitution. In 1998, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the right to abortion under the state constitution in Pro-Choice Mississippi v. Fordice. The decision stated that “[n]o right is held more sacred . . . than the right of every individual to the possession and control of his own person,” “no aspect of life is more personal and private than those have to do with one’s own reproductive system,” and “the state constitutional right to privacy includes an implied right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.”  

After a hearing on July 5, a Mississippi state court denied a request to block the ban from taking effect. Abortion services remain unavailable in the state. In July of 2022, this case was dismissed.   

Center Attorneys: Hillary Schneller and Alice Wang 

Co-Counsel/Cooperating Attorneys: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP and Mississippi Center for Justice 

Plaintiffs: Jackson Women’s Health Organization, on behalf of itself and its patients, and Sacheen Carr-Ellis, M.D., M.P.H.

Timeline:

Legal documents:

• Complaint in Jackson Women’s Health et al. v. Dobbs, 6.27.22 
• Petition for Interlocutory Appeal, or in the Alternative, for a Writ of Mandamus, and Request for Emergency Relief, 7.7.22 

Read more:

• Press Release: Lawsuit Filed to Block Mississippi Trigger Ban, 6.27.22