After Roe Fell: U.S. Abortion Laws by State

Illegal

Mississippi

Mississippi is enforcing its trigger ban, which prohibits abortion in nearly all situations.

State Legal Details

Bans in Effect

  • Gestational Ban, 15-week LMP
  • Gestational Ban, 20-week LMP
  • Gestational Ban, 6-week LMP
  • Gestational Ban, Total Ban
  • Method Ban
  • Reason Ban
  • Telemedicine Ban
  • Trigger Ban

Restrictions in Effect

  • Biased Counseling Requirement
  • Mandatory Ultrasound Requirement
  • Parental Involvement, Parental Consent Requirement
  • TRAP Requirements: Facilities, Facility Requirements
  • TRAP requirements: Providers, Reporting Requirement
  • Waiting Period Requirement

Restrictions

On June 27, 2022, the Mississippi Attorney General certified the state’s trigger ban, which bans all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person, or in cases of rape or incest that have been reported to law enforcement,1 following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.2 After being challenged in court,3 the trigger ban is currently in effect.4

Mississippi has not repealed other laws related to abortion. Mississippi law retains gestational bans at six weeks LMP, fifteen weeks LMP, and twenty weeks LMP.5 Both the six-week ban6 and the fifteen-week ban are in effect. 7. The twenty week ban is in effect.8 Mississippi also prohibits D&E and D&X procedures and abortions sought for reasons of race, sex, or genetic anomaly.9 Mississippi law continues to include requirements that pregnant people must undergo a mandatory twenty-four-hour waiting period, biased counseling, and an ultrasound.10 Mississippi also limits public funding for,11 and private insurance coverage of, abortion.12 Mississippi law continues to require that both parents13 or a judge14 consent to a minor’s abortion.15

Mississippi retains targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) related to facilities,16 permanently enjoined admitting privileges,17 and reporting.18 Mississippi law continues to restrict the provision of abortion care to licensed physicians19 and still restricts providers from using telemedicine for the provision of abortion care.20 Providers who violate Mississippi’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.21

State Protections

Mississippi law does not include express constitutional or statutory protections for abortion. To the contrary, Mississippi’s policy preference is to ban abortion to the fullest extent of the law: “Abortion carries significant physical and psychological risks to the maternal patient, and these physical and psychological risks increase with gestational age.”22

Post-Roe Prohibitions

In 2007, Mississippi enacted a trigger ban,23 which was certified by the state Attorney General on June 27, 2022, and bans all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person, or in cases of rape or incest that have been reported to law enforcement.24 After being challenged in court,3 the trigger ban is currently in effect.4 Mississippi also has an unenforced pre-Roe ban.27

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, Mississippi is enforcing its trigger ban, which prohibits abortion in nearly all situations.

  1. Miss. Code Ann. u00a7 41-41-45; @LynnFitchAG, Twitter (Jun. 27, 2022, 9:48 AM) https://twitter.com/ LynnFitchAG/status/1541418240370511872?s=20&t=nLzekM8HbrEGRNZEqoV9tw. ↩︎
  2. Dobbs v. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Org., 597 U.S (June 24, 2022), revu2019d Dobbs v. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Org., 945 F.3d 265, 274 (5th Cir. 2019). ↩︎
  3. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jun. 27, 2022). ↩︎
  4. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds. Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jul. 5, 2022). ↩︎
  5. MISS. CODE ANN. u00a7u00a7 41-41-34.1, 41-41-191, 41-41-137. ↩︎
  6. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Organization v. Dobbs, Case No. 25CH1:22-cv-00739 at 8 (Miss. Ch. 1st Dist. Jul. 5, 2022) (denying a request for injunctive relief and allowing the six-week ban, which was previously enjoined by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 951 F.3d 246, 248 (5th Cir. 2020) to take effect). ↩︎
  7. Dobbs v. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Org., 597 U.S (June 24, 2022), revu2019d Dobbs v. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Org., 945 F.3d 265, 274 (5th Cir. 2019). ↩︎
  8. Miss. Code Ann. u00a7 41-41-137. ↩︎
  9. MISS. CODE ANN. u00a7 41-41-155 (1); id. u00a7 41-41-73 (1); id. u00a7 41-41-407 (Miss. 2020) ↩︎
  10. MISS. CODE ANN. u00a7 41-41-33; id. u00a7 41-41-34. ↩︎
  11. Id. u00a7 41-41-91. ↩︎
  12. Id. u00a7 41-41-99. ↩︎
  13. Id. u00a7 41-41-53 (1). ↩︎
  14. Id. u00a7 41-41-53 (3). ↩︎
  15. MISS. CODE ANN. u00a7 41-41-53. ↩︎
  16. Id. u00a7u00a7 41-75-1 et seq. ↩︎
  17. Id. u00a7 41-75-1(f), invalidated by Jackson Womenu2019s Health Org. v. Currier, 760 F.3d 448 (5th Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 136 S. Ct. 2536 (mem.) (2016); see also Jackson Women’s Health Org. v. Currier, 320 F. Supp. 3d 828 (S.D. Miss. 2018). ↩︎
  18. MISS. CODE ANN. u00a7u00a7 41-41-77, 41-41-109 ↩︎
  19. Id. u00a7 97-3-3 (1). ↩︎
  20. Id. 41-41-107(3). ↩︎
  21. See, e.g., id. u00a7 41-41-45(4) (establishing that providers who violate the stateu2019s total abortion ban can be punished with up to ten years of imprisonment); u00a7 41-41-191(6) (establishing that providers who violate the stateu2019s fifteen-week ban can face civil penalties of up to $500 per violation). ↩︎
  22. Id. u00a7 41-41-191. ↩︎
  23. MISS. CODE ANN. u00a7 41-41-45. ↩︎
  24. @LynnFitchAG, Twitter (Jun. 27, 2022, 9:48 AM) https://twitter.com/ LynnFitchAG/status/1541418240370511872?s=20&t=nLzekM8HbrEGRNZEqoV9tw. ↩︎
  25. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jun. 27, 2022). ↩︎
  26. Jackson Womenu2019s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds. Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jul. 5, 2022). ↩︎
  27. Miss. Code Ann. u00a7 97-3-3. ↩︎