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) https://twitter.com/ LynnFitchAG/status/1541418240370511872?s=20&t=nLzekM8HbrEGRNZEqoV9tw. following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.^[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). After 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). the trigger ban is currently in effect.^[4]Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds. Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jul. 5, 2022).

Mississippi has not repealed other laws related to abortion.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]MISS. CODE ANN. §§ 41-41-34.1, 41-41-191, 41-41-137. The six week ban is temporarily enjoined,^[6]Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 951 F.3d 246, 248 (5th Cir. 2020). and the fifteen-week ban is in effect. ^[7] 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 twenty week ban is in effect.^[8] Miss. Code Ann. § 41-41-137. Mississippi also prohibits D&E and D&X procedures and abortions sought for reasons of race, sex, or genetic anomaly.^[9]MISS. CODE ANN. § 41-41-155 (1); id. § 41-41-73 (1); id. § 41-41-407 (Miss. 2020) Mississippi law continues to include requirements that pregnant people must undergo a mandatory twenty-four-hour waiting period, biased counseling, and an ultrasound.^[10]MISS. CODE ANN. § 41-41-33; id. § 41-41-34. Mississippi also limits public funding for,^[11]Id. § 41-41-91. and private insurance coverage of, abortion.^[12]Id. § 41-41-99. Mississippi law continues to require that both parents^[13]Id. § 41-41-53 (1). or a judge^[14]Id. § 41-41-53 (3). consent to a minor’s abortion.^[15]MISS. CODE ANN. § 41-41-53.

Mississippi retains targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) related to facilities,^[16]Id. §§ 41-75-1 et seq. permanently enjoined admitting privileges,^[17]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.^[18]MISS. CODE ANN. §§ 41-41-77, 41-41-109 Mississippi law continues to restrict the provision of abortion care to licensed physicians^[19]Id. § 97-3-3 (1). and still restricts providers from using telemedicine for the provision of abortion care.^[20]Id. 41-41-107(3). Providers who violate Mississippi’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.^[21]See, e.g., id. §§ 41-41-191, 41-41-163.

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]Id. § 41-41-191.

Post-Roe Prohibitions

In 2007, Mississippi enacted a trigger ban,^[23]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.^[24]@LynnFitchAG, Twitter (Jun. 27, 2022, 9:48 AM) https://twitter.com/ LynnFitchAG/status/1541418240370511872?s=20&t=nLzekM8HbrEGRNZEqoV9tw. After being challenged in court,^[25]Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jun. 27, 2022). the trigger ban is currently in effect.^[26]Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs, No. 22-cv-00739 (Hinds. Co. Ch. Ct. 1st Dist. Jul. 5, 2022). Mississippi also has an unenforced pre-Roe ban.^[27]Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-3.

Conclusion

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