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Mississippi Code Title 41. Public Health § 41-41-73

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(1) Any physician who knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and thereby kills a human fetus shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or imprisoned in the State Penitentiary for not more than two (2) years, or both. This subsection shall not apply to a partial-birth abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury if no other medical procedure would suffice for that purpose.

(2)(a) As used in this section, “partial-birth abortion” means an abortion in which the person performing the abortion partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery.

(b) As used in this section, “physician” means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy legally authorized to practice medicine and surgery by the State of Mississippi. However, any individual who is not a physician but who nevertheless directly performs a partial-birth abortion shall be subject to the provisions of this section.

(3)(a) The husband of a mother at the time she receives a partial-birth abortion procedure, and if the mother has not attained the age of eighteen (18) years at the time of the abortion, the mother's parents may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion.

(b) Such relief shall include:

(i) Money damages for all injuries, psychological and physical, occasioned by the violation of this section; and

(ii) Statutory damages equal to three (3) times the cost of the partial-birth abortion.

(4) A woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed may not be prosecuted under this section for a conspiracy to violate this section.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Mississippi Code Title 41. Public Health § 41-41-73 - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ms/title-41-public-health/ms-code-sect-41-41-73/

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