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]Miss. Code Ann. § 41-41-45; @LynnFitchAG, Twitter (Jun. 27, 2022, 9:48 AM) twitter.com… LynnFitchAG/status/1541418240370511872?s=20&t=nLzekM8HbrEGRNZEqoV9tw., following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the case Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs.^[2]Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 597 U.S (June 24, 2022), rev’d Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 945 F.3d 265, 274 (5th Cir. 2019). The trigger ban is being challenged in court.^[3]Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jun. 27, 2022). Mississippi law generally prohibits abortion at six weeks LMP, fifteen weeks LMP, and twenty weeks LMP.^[4]MISS. CODE ANN. §§ 41-41-34.1, 41-41-191, 41-41-137. The six week ban is temporarily enjoined,^[5]Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 951 F.3d 246, 248 (5th Cir. 2020). and the fifteen-week ban is permanently enjoined until the Supreme Court’s judgement is issued.^[6]Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 597 U.S (June 24, 2022), rev’d Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 945 F.3d 265, 274 (5th Cir. 2019), cert. granted, No. 19-1392 (U.S. May 17, 2021).. The twenty week ban is in effect.^[7] Miss. Code Ann. § 41-41-137. It also prohibits D&E and D&X procedures and abortions sought for reasons of race, sex, or genetic anomaly.^[8]MISS. CODE ANN. § 41-41-155 (1); id. § 41-41-73 (1); id. § 41-41-407 (Miss. 2020) Pregnant people who seek abortion care must undergo a mandatory twenty-four-hour waiting period, biased counseling, and an ultrasound.^[9]MISS. CODE ANN. § 41-41-33; id. § 41-41-34. Mississippi also limits public funding for,^[10]Id. § 41-41-91. and private insurance coverage of, abortion.^[11]Id. § 41-41-99. Mississippi law generally requires that both parents^[12]Id. § 41-41-53 (1). or a judge^[13]Id. § 41-41-53 (3). consent to a minor’s abortion.^[14]MISS. CODE ANN. § 41-41-53.

Mississippi’s targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws include requirements related to facilities,^[15]Id. §§ 41-75-1 et seq. permanently enjoined admitting privileges,^[16]Id. § 41-75-1(f), invalidated by Jackson Women’s 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. … Continue reading and reporting.^[17]MISS. CODE ANN. §§ 41-41-77, 41-41-109 Mississippi law restricts the provision of abortion care to licensed physicians^[18]Id. § 97-3-3 (1). and restricts providers from using telemedicine for the provision of abortion care.^[19]Id. 41-41-107(3). Providers who violate Mississippi’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.^[20]See, e.g., id. §§ 41-41-191, 41-41-163.

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.”^[21]Id. § 41-41-191.

Laws that could be enforced if Roe v. Wade is limited or overturned

In 2007, Mississippi enacted a trigger ban,^[22]MISS. CODE ANN. § 41-41-45. 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.^[23]@LynnFitchAG, Twitter (Jun. 27, 2022, 9:48 AM) twitter.com… LynnFitchAG/status/1541418240370511872?s=20&t=nLzekM8HbrEGRNZEqoV9tw. The trigger ban is being challenged in court.^[24]Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jun. 27, 2022). Mississippi also has an unenforced pre-Roe ban.^[25]Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-3.

Conclusion

If Roe v. Wade is limited or overturned, it is likely the state will attempt to enforce its trigger ban and prohibit abortion entirely.