House Bill 1005

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "SAFEGUARDING TEENS FROM OUT-OF-STATE (ABORTION) PROCEDURES (STOP) ACT"; TO DECLARE CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO CREATE A FELONY OFFENSE FOR PROCURING AN ABORTION OR ABORTION-INDUCING DRUG FOR A MINOR GIRL OR FOR AIDING IN THE PROCUREMENT OF AN ABORTION BY HARBORING OR TRANSPORTING A MINOR GIRL WITH THE INTENT TO CONCEAL THE ABORTION FROM THE CHILD'S PARENTS; TO DECLARE THAT IT IS NOT AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE THAT THE ABORTION OCCURRED IN ANOTHER STATE; TO AUTHORIZE CIVIL REMEDIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; TO AUTHORIZE THE LEGISLATURE TO APPOINT MEMBERS TO INTERVENE IN ANY CASE CHALLENGING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY AND ENFORCEABILITY OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Safeguarding Teens from Out-of-State (Abortion) Procedures (STOP) Act."

SECTION 2. The Legislature finds the following:

(a) The medical, emotional and psychological consequences of abortion are often serious and can be lasting, particularly when the patient is young or immature.

(b) Parents and guardians usually possess information essential to a healthcare provider's exercise of the provider's best medical judgment concerning a minor girl.

(c) Parents or guardians should be consulted and provided with all relevant information related to any medical procedure their child may undergo, including abortion.

(d) Parents and guardians have the fundamental right to make healthcare decisions in their child's best interest and should be supported fully and informed as they make those decisions.

(e) Under Section 41-41-53, the State of Mississippi requires parental consent before a minor girl undergoes an abortion.

SECTION 3. As used in this act, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug or other substance, device or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman and for the purpose of ensuring the death of her unborn child. "Abortion" does not include an action if done with the intent to:

(i) Save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child;

(ii) Remove a dead unborn child caused by miscarriage;

(iii) Remove an ectopic pregnancy; or

(iv) Perform a pre-viability separation procedure when the procedure, in reasonable medical judgment, is necessary to save or preserve the life of the pregnant woman.

(b) "Abortion-inducing drug" means any medicine, drug or other substance prescribed or dispensed with the intent of terminating the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman and for the purpose of ensuring the death of her unborn child. "Abortion-inducing drug" includes the off-label use of drugs known to have abortion-inducing properties which are prescribed specifically with the intent of causing an abortion. "Abortion-inducing drug" does not include drugs that may be known to cause an abortion but which are prescribed for other medical indications.

(c) "Assistance" means lodging, shelter, transportation or money that can help a minor girl procure an abortion or obtain abortion-inducing drugs, while avoiding detection by or the involvement of her parents or legal guardian.

(d) "Ectopic pregnancy" means the state of carrying an unborn child outside of the uterine cavity.

(e) "Harboring" means providing assistance to a minor girl in order to procure an abortion or to obtain abortion-inducing drugs without the knowledge, consent or involvement of her parents or legal guardian.

(f) "Minor girl" means a female resident of the State of Mississippi under the age of eighteen (18) years who is not emancipated.

(g) "Miscarriage" means a spontaneous loss of the unborn child.

(h) "Pre-viability separation procedure" means a medical procedure other than an abortion which is performed by a physician to remove an unborn child from the mother's uterine cavity before that stage of fetal development when, in the reasonable medical judgment of the physician based on the particular facts of the case and in light of the most advanced medical technology and information available to the physician, there is a reasonable likelihood of sustained survival of the unborn child outside the body of the mother, with or without artificial support.

(i) "Transporting" means to move a minor girl within, into, out of or through the State of Mississippi for the purpose of procuring an abortion or obtaining abortion-inducing drugs.

SECTION 4. (1) A person who, with the intent to conceal an abortion from the parents or guardian of a minor girl, procures an abortion for the minor girl, obtains an abortion-inducing drug for the minor girl, or aids or abets the minor girl in procuring an abortion or obtaining an abortion-inducing drug by harboring or transporting the minor girl is guilty of a felony punishable by commitment to the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for not less than twenty (20) years nor more than life in prison, or by a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both.

(2) As used in subsection (1) of this section, the terms "procure" and "obtain" do not include providing information regarding a health benefit plan or constitutionally protected speech or expression.

(3) This act may not be construed to subject a minor girl to criminal conviction or penalty.

SECTION 5. (1) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this act that a parent or guardian of a minor girl consented to the harboring or transporting of the minor girl.

(2) It is not an affirmative defense to prosecution under this act that the person or entity performing the abortion or providing the abortion-inducing drug is located in another state.

SECTION 6. (1) In addition to any other remedy that may be available under law, a violation of this act is a basis for a civil action for actual and punitive damages and injunctive relief, including reasonable attorney's fees.

(2) This act may not be construed to subject a minor girl to civil liability or penalty.

SECTION 7. (1) This act may not be construed as creating or recognizing a right to abortion.

(2) This act may not be construed as making lawful an abortion that is otherwise unlawful under the laws of this state.

SECTION 8. It is the intent of the Legislature that every provision of this act operate with equal force and is severable one (1) from the other. If a provision of this act is held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision must be deemed severable and the remaining provisions of this act deemed fully enforceable.

SECTION 9. The Legislature may appoint one or more of its members to intervene in any case in which the constitutionality or enforceability of this act is challenged.

SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.