MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Judiciary, Division A
By: Senator(s) Fillingane
AN ACT TO ENACT THE PROTECTING WOMEN AND CHILDREN ACT; TO STATE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; TO DEFINE TERMS; TO PROVIDE THAT THIS CHAPTER SHALL NOT IMPOSE LIABILITY ON CERTAIN INTERNET-RELATED ENTITIES; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS RELATED TO ABORTION-INDUCING DRUGS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE EXCLUSIVE ENFORCEMENT OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE THROUGH A PRIVATE CIVIL ACTION BROUGHT UNDER SECTION 7 OF THE ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE EFFECT OF OTHER LAW; TO CREATE A CIVIL CAUSE OF ACTION RELATED TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF ABORTION-INDUCING DRUGS; TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES TO THE CIVIL ACTION AUTHORIZED BY THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR MARKET-SHARE LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN MANUFACTURERS OF ABORTION-INDUCING DRUGS; TO PROVIDE A STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR ACTIONS BROUGHT UNDER THIS CHAPTER; TO PROHIBIT WAIVER OF THE RIGHT TO BRING SUIT UNDER THIS CHAPTER; TO DESCRIBE CERTAIN SITUATIONS, CONDUCT AND SPEECH WHERE LIABILITY IS NOT IMPOSED UNDER THE CHAPTER; TO PROVIDE FOR PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND THE APPLICABILITY OF STATE LAW; TO PROHIBIT COORDINATED ENFORCEMENT; TO PROVIDE IMMUNITY TO INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE USERS AND PROVIDERS; TO DESCRIBE SCENARIOS IN WHICH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES MAY BE ASSERTED; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHAPTER WITH RESPECT TO CIVIL LIABILITY AND ENFORCEMENT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION OF OTHER LAW; TO PROHIBIT CONTRACTUAL CHOICE-OF-FORUM PROVISIONS; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN PROTECTIONS FROM COUNTERACTIONS; TO DIRECT CODIFICATION OF THE ACT AS A SEPARATE CHAPTER OF TITLE 11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Protecting Women and Children Act."
SECTION 2. Legislative findings. The Legislature makes the following findings of fact and incorporates them herein by reference:
(a) The distribution, shipping, prescribing, or use of abortion-inducing drugs into or within this state constitutes conduct directed at persons and harm occurring within the borders of the State of Mississippi.
(b) Chemical abortion drugs present significant medical risks to pregnant women, including hemorrhage, infection, incomplete abortion, and the need for surgical intervention, and such risks are heightened when the drugs are obtained without in-person medical supervision.
(c) The State of Mississippi has a compelling interest in protecting the health and safety of pregnant women, the lives of unborn children, and the integrity of the medical profession.
(d) Abortion-inducing drugs distributed through the Internet, mail, or interstate channels have substantial effects within this state, and that Mississippi has the sovereign authority to regulate conduct and protect persons within its territorial jurisdiction.
(e) The purpose of this chapter is to create a private civil cause of action to hold accountable persons and entities who participate in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, mailing, prescribing, or facilitation of abortion-inducing drugs in violation of state law.
SECTION 3. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Abortion" has the meaning assigned under Section 41-41-45(1).
(b) "Abortion assistance organization" means a person that procures or facilitates the procurement of an elective abortion by:
(i) Offering or providing money to pay for, reimburse, insure, or offset the costs of an abortion or any costs incurred in or associated with obtaining an elective abortion, regardless of where the abortion is performed;
(ii) Paying for, reimbursing, insuring, planning, or executing plans for travel accommodations, including transportation, meals, or lodging, with the intent of facilitating the procurement of an elective abortion, regardless of where the abortion is performed;
(iii) Offering, providing, or paying for any type of service or logistical support, including child care or abortion doula services, with the intent of facilitating the procurement of an elective abortion, regardless of where the abortion is performed; or
(iv) Collecting or distributing abortion-inducing drugs to provide easier access to the drugs.
(c) "Abortion-inducing drug" has the meaning assigned under Section 41-41-105.
(d) "Abortion provider" means a person that performs elective abortions.
(e) "Elective abortion" means an abortion performed or induced by a licensed physician that is not performed or induced in response to a medical emergency.
(f) "Information content provider" means a person who is responsible, wholly or partly, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other interactive computer service.
(g) "Interactive computer service" means an information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system providing access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions. The term does not include:
(i) An internet service provider or the provider's affiliates or subsidiaries;
(ii) A search engine;
(iii) A cloud service provider that solely provides access or connection to or from an internet website or other information or content on the Internet or on a facility, system, or network that is not under the provider's control, including transmission, downloading, intermediate storage, access software, or other services.
(h) "Medical emergency" has the meaning assigned under Section 41-41-31(b).
SECTION 4. Construction of chapter related to liability. This chapter may not be construed to impose liability on the speech or conduct of:
(a) An internet service provider or the provider's affiliates or subsidiaries;
(b) A search engine; or
(c) A cloud service provider that solely provides access or connection to or from an internet website or other information or content on the Internet or on a facility, system, or network that is not under the provider's control, including transmission, downloading, intermediate storage, access software, or other services.
SECTION 5. Prohibitions related to abortion-inducing drugs. (1) Except as provided by subsection (2) of this section, a person may not:
(a) Manufacture, possess, or distribute an abortion-inducing drug in this state;
(b) Mail, transport, deliver, prescribe, or provide an abortion-inducing drug in any manner to or from any person or location in this state;
(c) Provide information on the method for obtaining an abortion-inducing drug; provided, this prohibition applies only to speech integral to conduct that constitutes a civil or criminal offense;
(d) Create, edit, upload, publish, host, maintain, or register a domain name for an internet website, platform, or other interactive computer service that assists or facilitates a person's effort in obtaining an abortion-inducing drug;
(e) Create, edit, program, or distribute any application or software for use on a computer or an electronic device that is intended to enable individuals to obtain an abortion-inducing drug or to facilitate an individual's access to an abortion-inducing drug; or
(f) Engage in conduct that aids or abets an act described by this subsection if the person would be held criminally responsible as an accessory before the fact or accessory after the fact under Section 97-1-3 or 97-1-5.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, subsection (1) of this section does not prohibit:
(a) Speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as made applicable to the states through the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution or protected by Article 3, Section 13, Mississippi Constitution;
(b) Conduct this state is prohibited from regulating under the Mississippi Constitution or federal law;
(c) Conduct of a pregnant woman who aborts or seeks to abort the woman's unborn child;
(d) The possession, distribution, mailing, transport, delivery, or provision of an abortion-inducing drug for a purpose that does not include performing, inducing, attempting, or assisting an abortion;
(e) The possession, distribution, mailing, transport, delivery, or provision of an abortion-inducing drug for the purpose of enabling a licensed physician to treat a pregnant woman during a medical emergency;
(f) The possession of an abortion-inducing drug for purposes of entrapping a person that violates this section; or
(g) Conduct engaged in by a person under the direction of a federal agency, contractor, or employee to carry out a duty under federal law, if prohibiting that conduct would violate the doctrine of preemption or intergovernmental immunity.
(3) The remedies available under this chapter may be awarded without regard to whether the conduct giving rise to the remedy resulted in a criminal conviction.
SECTION 6. Exclusive enforcement; effect of other law. (1) Notwithstanding any other law, this chapter may only be enforced through a private civil action brought under Section 7 of this act.
(2) No other direct or indirect enforcement of this chapter may be taken or threatened by this state, a political subdivision of this state, a district or county attorney, or any officer or employee of this state or a political subdivision of this state against any person, by any means whatsoever, and no violation of this chapter may be used to justify or trigger the enforcement of any other law or any type of adverse consequence under any other law, except as provided in this chapter.
(3) This section does not preclude or limit the enforcement of any other law or regulation against conduct that is independently prohibited by the other law or regulation and that would remain prohibited by the other law or regulation in the absence of this chapter.
SECTION 7. Civil action for distribution of abortion-inducing drugs. (1) Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by this chapter, a person who manufactures, possesses, distributes, mails, transports, delivers, prescribes, or provides an abortion-inducing drug, who aids or abets the manufacture, possession, distribution, mailing, transport, delivery, prescription, or provision of an abortion-inducing drug, or who engages in any conduct prohibited by Section 5 of this act is strictly, absolutely, and jointly and severally liable for:
(a) The wrongful death of an unborn child or pregnant woman from the use of the abortion-inducing drug; and
(b) Personal injury of an unborn child or pregnant woman from the use of the abortion-inducing drug.
(2) A claimant may not bring an action under this section if the action is preempted by 47 U.S.C. § 230(c).
(3) A person who engages in conduct described by subsection (a) is liable for damages resulting from the death or personal injury sustained by an unborn child or pregnant woman if the person's conduct contributed in any way to the death or injury, regardless of whether the person's conduct was the actual or proximate cause of the death or injury, except as required by the United States constitution or Mississippi constitution.
(4) Notwithstanding any other law, the mother or father of an unborn child may bring a civil action under this section for the wrongful death of the unborn child from the use of an abortion-inducing drug, regardless of whether the other parent brings a civil action for the wrongful death. The biological father of an unborn child may bring the action regardless of whether the father was married to the unborn child's mother at the time of the unborn child's conception or death.
(5) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action may not be brought under this section:
(a) Against the woman who used or sought to obtain abortion-inducing drugs to abort or attempt to abort her unborn child;
(b) Against a person that acted under the direction of a federal agency, contractor, or employee who is carrying out duties under federal law if the imposition of liability would violate the doctrine of preemption or intergovernmental immunity; or
(c) By any person who impregnated the woman who used abortion-inducing drugs through conduct constituting sexual battery under Section 97-3-95, or by another person who acts in concert or participation with that person.
SECTION 8. Defenses. (1) It is an affirmative defense to an action brought under Section 7 of this act that the defendant:
(a) Was unaware the defendant was engaged in the conduct described by Section 7(a) of this act; and
(b) Took every reasonable precaution to ensure the defendant would not manufacture, possess, distribute, mail, transport, deliver, prescribe, or provide or aid or abet the manufacture, possession, distribution, mailing, transport, delivery, prescription, or provision of abortion-inducing drugs.
(2) A defendant has the burden of proving an affirmative defense under subsection (1) of this section by a preponderance of the evidence.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, the following are not a defense to an action brought under Section 7 of this act:
(a) Ignorance or mistake of law;
(b) A defendant's belief the requirements or provisions of this chapter are unconstitutional or were unconstitutional;
(c) Reliance on a court decision that has been vacated, reversed, or overruled on appeal or by a subsequent court, even if the court decision had not been vacated, reversed, or overruled when the cause of action accrued;
(d) Reliance on a state or federal court decision that is not binding on the court in which the action has been brought;
(e) Reliance on a federal statute, agency rule or action, or treaty that has been repealed, superseded, or declared invalid or unconstitutional, even if the federal statute, agency rule or action, or treaty had not been repealed, superseded, or declared invalid or unconstitutional when the cause of action accrued;
(f) The laws of another state or jurisdiction, including an interstate abortion shield law, unless the Mississippi Constitution or federal law, including the United States Constitution, compels the court to enforce that law;
(g) Non-mutual issue preclusion or non-mutual claim preclusion;
(h) The consent of the claimant or the unborn child's mother to the abortion;
(i) Contributory or comparative negligence;
(j) Assumption of risk;
(k) Entrapment;
(l) Lack of actual or proximate cause;
(m) Sovereign immunity, governmental immunity, or official immunity; or
(n) A claim that enforcement of this chapter or the imposition of civil liability against the defendant will violate the constitutional or federally protected rights of third parties, except as provided by Section 16 of this act.
SECTION 9. Market-share liability. Notwithstanding any other law, if a claimant bringing an action under Section 7 of this act is unable to identify the specific manufacturer of the abortion-inducing drug that caused the death or injury that is the basis for the action, liability is apportioned among all manufacturers of abortion-inducing drugs in proportion to each manufacturer's share of the national market for abortion-inducing drugs at the time the death or injury occurred.
SECTION 10. Statute of limitations. Notwithstanding any other law, a person may bring an action under Section 7 of this act not later than the sixth anniversary of the date the cause of action accrues.
SECTION 11. Waiver prohibited. Notwithstanding any other law, a waiver or purported waiver of the right to bring an action under Section 7 of this act is void as against public policy and is not enforceable in any court.
SECTION 12. Situations, conduct and speech for which liability is not imposed. Notwithstanding any other law, this chapter does not impose liability for:
(a) Death or personal injury resulting from an abortion performed or induced by a licensed physician in response to a medical emergency;
(b) Speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or protected by Article 3, Section 13, Mississippi Constitution;
(c) Conduct that this state is prohibited from regulating under the Mississippi Constitution or federal law, including the United States Constitution;
(d) Conduct of a pregnant woman who aborts or seeks to abort her unborn child;
(e) The possession, distribution, mailing, transport, delivery, or provision of an abortion-inducing drug for the purpose of enabling a licensed physician to treat a pregnant woman during a medical emergency;
(f) The provision of basic public services, including fire and police protection and utilities, by this state, a political subdivision of this state, or a common carrier to an abortion provider, an abortion assistance organization, an affiliate of an abortion provider or an abortion assistance organization, or a manufacturer or distributor of abortion-inducing drugs, in the same manner as this state, the political subdivision, or the common carrier provides those services to the general public; or
(g) Conduct engaged in under the direction of a federal agency, contractor, or employee to carry out a duty under federal law, if prohibiting that conduct would violate the doctrine of preemption or intergovernmental immunity.
SECTION 13. Jurisdiction; applicability of state law. (1) Notwithstanding any other law, including Section 13-3-57, the courts of this state have personal jurisdiction over a defendant sued under Section 7 of this act to the maximum extent permitted by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the defendant may be served outside this state.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the law of this state applies to the use of an abortion-inducing drug by a resident of this state, regardless of where the use of the drug occurs, and to any action brought under Section 7 of this act to the maximum extent permitted by the Mississippi Constitution and federal law.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, any contractual choice-of-law provision that requires or purports to require application of the laws of a different jurisdiction is void based on this state's public policy and is not enforceable in any court.
SECTION 14. Coordinated enforcement prohibited. (1) Notwithstanding any other law, this state, a political subdivision of this state, or an officer or employee of this state or a political subdivision of this state may not:
(a) Act in concert or participation with a claimant bringing an action under Section 7 of this act;
(b) Establish or attempt to establish any type of agency or fiduciary relationship with a claimant bringing an action under Section 7 of this act;
(c) Attempt to control or influence a person's decision to bring an action under Section 11-78-9 or that person's conduct of the litigation; or
(d) Intervene in an action brought under Section 7 of this act.
(2) This section shall not prohibit this state, a political subdivision of this state, or an officer or employee of this state or a political subdivision of this state from filing an amicus curiae brief in an action brought under Section 7 of this act if the state, political subdivision, officer, or employee does not act in concert or participation with the claimant who brings the action.
SECTION 15. Interactive computer service user or provider immunity. Notwithstanding any other law, a provider or user of an interactive computer service, internet service provider, search engine, or cloud service provider has absolute and nonwaivable immunity from liability or suit under this chapter for:
(a) Any action taken to restrict access to or availability of information or material that assists or facilitates access to elective abortions or abortion-inducing drugs, regardless of whether the information or material is constitutionally protected from government censorship.
(b) Any action taken to enable or make available to information content providers or others the technical means to restrict access to information or material described by paragraph (a) of this section; or
(c) Any denial of service to persons who provide or aid or abet elective abortions or who manufacture, mail, distribute, transport, or provide abortion-inducing drugs.
SECTION 16. Conditions under which affirmative defense may be asserted. (1) A defendant against whom an action is brought under Section 7 of this act may assert an affirmative defense to liability under this section if:
(a) The imposition of civil liability on the defendant will violate the defendant's personal constitutional or federally protected rights;
(b) The defendant:
(i) Has standing to assert the rights of a third party under the tests for third-party standing established by the United States Supreme Court; and
(ii) Demonstrates the imposition of civil liability on the defendant would violate constitutional or federally protected rights belonging to a third party;
(c) The imposition of civil liability on the defendant would violate the defendant's rights under the Mississippi Constitution; or
(d) The imposition of civil liability on the defendant would violate the limits on extraterritorial jurisdiction imposed by the United States Constitution or the Mississippi Constitution.
(2) The defendant has the burden of proving an affirmative defense described by subsection (1) of this section by a preponderance of the evidence.
SECTION 17. Construction of chapter with respect to civil liability and enforcement. This chapter may not be construed to limit or preclude a defendant from asserting the unconstitutionality of any provision or application of the laws of this state as a defense to liability under Section 7 of this act or from asserting any other defense that might be available under any other source of law.
SECTION 18. Application of other law. (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a court may not apply the law of another state or jurisdiction to any civil action brought under Section 7 of this act unless the Mississippi Constitution or federal law, including the United States Constitution, compels it to do so.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, any contractual choice-of-law provision that requires or purports to require application of the laws of a different jurisdiction is void based on this state's public policy and is not enforceable in any court.
SECTION 19. Contractual choice-of-forum provisions prohibited. Notwithstanding any other law, any contractual choice-of-forum provision that requires or purports to require a civil action under Sections 7 of this act to be litigated in a particular forum is void as against this state's public policy and is not enforceable in any court.
SECTION 20. Protection from counteractions. If an action is brought against a person or a judgment is entered against a person based wholly or partly on the person's decision to bring or threat to bring an action under Section 7 of this act, the person may recover damages from the claimant who brought the action or obtained the judgment or who has sought to enforce the judgment, including:
(1) Compensatory damages created by the action or judgment, including money damages in an amount of the judgment and all costs, expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees spent in defending the action.
(2) Costs, expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees incurred in bringing an action under this section.
(3) Additional statutory damages in an amount of not less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00).
SECTION 21. Sections 1 through 20 of this act shall be codified as a chapter within Title 11, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 22. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.