Mississippi bill outlawing abortion pill distribution heads to governor's desk

Legislation that would outlaw the distribution of the abortion pill in Mississippi has passed both the House and Senate, and heads to the desk of Governor Tate Reeves for signature.

Key Takeaways:

• HB 1613 bill makes it illegal "to create, sell, barter, transfer, manufacture, distribute, dispense or prescribe an 'abortion-inducing drug.'"

• The legislation aims to curtail the flow of illegal abortion pills into the state.

• Mississippi law protects nearly all preborn children from abortion.

• The bill passed both the House and the Senate and now heads to the desk of Governor Tate Reeves for signature.

The Details:

House Bill 1613 classifies the distribution of abortion drugs as felony drug trafficking. The legislation, which amends a current drug trafficking bill, makes it illegal:

To create, sell, barter, transfer, manufacture, distribute, dispense, prescribe or possess with intent to create, sell, barter, transfer, manufacture, distribute, dispense or prescribe an "abortion-inducing drug," which is defined as a medicine, drug or any other substance prescribed or dispensed with the intent of terminating the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman to cause the death of the unborn child. 

This includes the use of drugs known to have abortion-inducing properties, which are prescribed specifically with the intent of causing an abortion.  Use of those drugs to induce abortion is also known as "medical abortion."  This definition does not apply to drugs that may be known to cause an abortion but are prescribed for other medical indications, such as chemotherapeutic agents and diagnostic drugs.

Penalties for those convicted of a crime include up to ten years in prison. Additionally, the legislation allows the Attorney General to bring a civil lawsuit against anyone accused of violating the law.

Notably, the legislation imposes no penalties on the mother taking the abortion drug — only those involved in trafficking and distributing.

The legislation previously passed the House with a 76-38 vote and the Senate with a vote of 37-15 on Tuesday.

Zoom In:

Currently, nearly all preborn children are protected from abortion in Mississippi. Though a Mississippi doctor cannot legally prescribe the abortion pill, out-of-state providers are still mailing these pills into the state. This legislation aims to close that legal loophole to further protect both preborn children and their mothers who may be injured by the abortion pill or coerced into taking abortion drugs against their wishes.

“The state of Mississippi has been pretty clear of where they are about their pro-life position,” Senator Daniel Sparks told Mississippi Today. “If people are circumventing that through the mail or through other mechanisms, then I think we’re trying to be consistent with what the law is.”

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The Bottom Line:

Mississippi joins several other pro-life states in working to pass legislation that aims to stymie the flow of illegal abortion pill drugs through the mail. Though the federal Comstock law prohibits the mailing of “any article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing [that] may, or can be used or applied for producing abortion” through the mail, the law is not currently enforced.