Bill Text: MS HB1418 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: The Right to Contraception Act; create.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2025-02-04 - Died In Committee [HB1418 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2025-HB1418-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2025 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services; Judiciary A
By: Representative Summers
House Bill 1418
AN ACT TO CREATE THE RIGHT TO CONTRACEPTION ACT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE RIGHT TO CONTRACEPTION IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT, CENTRAL TO A PERSON'S PRIVACY, HEALTH, WELL-BEING, DIGNITY, LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE OF THE STATE; TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS FOR THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE A STATUTORY RIGHT UNDER THIS ACT TO OBTAIN CONTRACEPTIVES AND TO ENGAGE IN CONTRACEPTION; TO PROVIDE THAT A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER HAS A CORRESPONDING RIGHT TO PROVIDE CONTRACEPTIVES, CONTRACEPTION, AND CONTRACEPTION-RELATED INFORMATION; TO AUTHORIZE A PERSON TO COMMENCE A CIVIL ACTION IF THEY ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY A VIOLATION OF THIS ACT; TO AUTHORIZE ANY INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY, INCLUDING ANY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OR PATIENT, ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY AN ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION, MAY COMMENCE A CIVIL ACTION AGAINST ANY PERSON THAT VIOLATES OR IMPLEMENTS OR ENFORCES A LIMITATION OR REQUIREMENT THAT VIOLATES THIS SECTION; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 41-42-5 AND 41-42-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH AUTHORIZE PHYSICIANS TO PROVIDE CONTRACEPTIVES, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 73-21-131, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE PHARMACISTS TO PROVIDE HORMONAL CONTRACEPTIVES ACCORDING TO A VALID COLLABORATIVE PHARMACY PRACTICE AGREEMENT CONTAINING A NONPATIENT-SPECIFIC PRESCRIPTIVE ORDER AND STANDARDIZED PROCEDURES DEVELOPED AND EXECUTED BY AN AUTHORIZED PRESCRIBER; TO AMEND SECTION 73-21-73, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and cited as the "Right to Contraception Act."
SECTION 2. The Legislature finds the following:
(a) The right to contraception is a fundamental right, central to a person's privacy, health, well-being, dignity, liberty, equality, and ability to participate in the
social and economic life of the state.
(b) The right to contraceptives is protected by Mississippi law.
(c) The right to contraception has been repeatedly recognized internationally as a human right. The United Nations Population Fund has published several reports outlining family planning as a basic human right that advances women's health, economic empowerment, and equality.
(d) Access to contraceptives is internationally recognized by the World Health Organization as advancing other human rights such as the right to life, liberty, expression, health, work, and education.
(e) Contraception is safe, essential health care, and access to contraceptive products and services is central to people's ability to participate equally in economic and social life. Contraception allows people to make decisions about their families and their lives.
(f) Contraception is key to sexual and reproductive health. Contraception is critical to preventing unintended pregnancy, and many contraceptives are highly effective in preventing and treating a wide array of often severe medical conditions and decrease the risk of certain cancers.
(g) Family planning improves health outcomes for women, their families, and their communities and reduces rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity.
(h) Policies governing pharmaceutical and insurance policies affect the accessibility of contraceptives and the settings in which contraception services are delivered.
SECTION 3. As used in this act, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings as defined in this section:
(a) "Contraception" means an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives or fertility-awareness-based methods and sterilization procedures and includes "contraceptive procedures" as defined in Section 41-42-3.
(b) "Contraceptive" means any drug, device, or biological product intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy, whether specifically intended to prevent pregnancy or for other health needs, that is legally marketed under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, such as oral contraceptives, long acting reversible contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, internal and external condoms, injectables, vaginal barrier methods, transdermal patches, and vaginal rings, or other contraceptives.
(c) "Health care provider" means any physician, nurse, or nurse practitioner or pharmacist licensed in the State of Mississippi.
(d) "Political subdivision" means a city, village, town, or county or the state.
SECTION 4. (1) A person has a statutory right under this act to obtain contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and a health care provider has a corresponding right to provide contraceptives, contraception, and contraception-related information.
(2) The statutory rights specified in this act shall not be limited or otherwise infringed through any limitation or requirement that does all of the following:
(a) Expressly, effectively, implicitly, or as implemented singles out the provision of contraceptives, contraception, or contraception-related information; health care providers who provide contraceptives, contraception, or contraception-related information; or facilities in which contraceptives, contraception, or contraception-related information is provided.
(b) Impedes access to contraceptives, contraception, or contraception-related information.
(3) To defend against a claim that a limitation or requirement violates a health care provider's or patient's statutory rights under paragraph (b), a party must establish, by clear and convincing evidence, all of the following:
(a) The limitation or requirement significantly advances the safety of contraceptives, contraception, and contraception-related information.
(b) The safety of contraceptives, contraception, and contraception related information or the health of patients cannot be advanced by a less restrictive alternative measure or action.
(4) (a) Neither the state nor any political subdivision of the state may administer, implement, or enforce any law, rule, regulation, standard, or other provision having the force and effect of law in a manner that does any of the following:
(i) Prohibits or restricts the sale, provision, or use of any contraceptives that have been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for contraceptive purposes.
(ii) Prohibits or restricts any person from aiding another person in obtaining any contraceptives approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration or contraceptive methods.
(iii) Exempts any contraceptives approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration from any other generally applicable law in a way that would make it more difficult to sell, provide, obtain, or use those contraceptives or contraceptive methods.
(b) This section does not supersede or otherwise affect any provision relating to coverage under group health plans or group or individual health insurance coverage and may not be construed as requiring the provision of specific benefits under these plans or coverage.
(c) An individual or entity who is subject to a limitation or requirement that violates this section may raise this section as a defense to any cause of action against the individual or entity.
(5) (a) This act shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes.
(b) Nothing in this act may be construed to do any of the following:
(i) Authorize any government to interfere with a health care provider's ability to provide contraceptives or contraception-related information or a person's ability to obtain contraceptives or to engage in contraception.
(ii) Permit or sanction the conduct of any sterilization procedure without the patient's voluntary and informed consent.
(6) (a) The Attorney General may commence a civil action on behalf of the state against any person that violates or enforces a limitation or requirement that violates this section. In any civil action brought under this paragraph, the Attorney General may compromise and settle the action as the Attorney General determines to be in the best interest of the state.
(b) Any individual or entity, including any health care provider or patient, adversely affected by an alleged violation of this section may commence a civil action against any person that violates or implements or enforces a limitation or requirement that violates this section.
(c) A health care provider may commence an action for relief on its own behalf, on behalf of the provider's staff, and on behalf of the provider's patients who are or may be adversely affected by an alleged violation of this section.
(d) If a court finds that there has been a violation of this section, the court shall hold unlawful and set aside the limitation or requirement. In any action under this section, the court may award appropriate equitable relief, including temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief.
(e) In any action under this section, the court shall award to any prevailing plaintiff costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Unless a court determines an action is frivolous, the court may not hold a plaintiff liable to a defendant for costs and attorney's fees in an action under this section.
SECTION 5. Section 41-42-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-42-5. The State Board of Health is authorized to receive and disburse such funds as may become available to it for family planning programs to any organization, public or private, engaged in providing contraceptive procedures, supplies, and information. Any family planning program administered by the board may be developed in consultation and coordination with other family planning agencies in this state.
The board is hereby authorized to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this chapter.
The board may provide for the dissemination of medically acceptable contraceptive information and supplies by duly authorized persons in state and county health and welfare departments and in medical facilities at institutions of higher learning.
SECTION 6. Section 41-42-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-42-7. Contraceptive supplies and information may be furnished by physicians to any minor who is a parent, or who is married, or who has the consent of his or her parent or legal guardian, or who has been referred for such service by another physician, a clergyman, a family planning clinic, a school or institution of higher learning, or any agency or instrumentality of this state or any subdivision thereof.
SECTION 7. The following shall be codified as Section 73-21-131, Mississippi Code of 1972:
73-21-131. (1) As used in this section, "hormonal contraceptive" means a self-administered drug, or a transdermal patch applied to the skin of a patient, by the patient or by a practitioner, that releases a drug composed of a combination of hormones that are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to prevent pregnancy.
(2) Pursuant to this section, a pharmacist, in good faith, is authorized to provide hormonal contraceptives according to a valid collaborative pharmacy practice agreement containing a nonpatient-specific prescriptive order and standardized procedures developed and executed by one (1) or more authorized prescribers.
(3) Pursuant to this section, a pharmacist may provide hormonal contraceptives to individuals who are:
(a) Eighteen (18) years of age or older; or
(b) Under eighteen (18) years of age, if the individual is an emancipated minor.
(4) The State Board of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the State Board Of Medical Licensure, shall adopt rules to establish standard procedures for the provision of hormonal contraceptives by pharmacists. The standardized procedures adopted pursuant to this section shall require a pharmacist to:
(a) Complete a training program approved by the department of health related to the provision of hormonal contraceptives;
(b) Provide the patient with a self-screening risk assessment tool developed or approved by the State Department of Health;
(c) Provide the patient with documentation about the hormonal contraceptive that was provided to the patient and advise the patient to consult with a primary care practitioner or women's health care practitioner;
(d) Provide the patient with a standardized factsheet that includes, but is not limited to, the indications and contraindications for use of the drug, the appropriate method for using the drug, the importance of medical follow-up, and other appropriate information;
(e) Provide the patient with the contact information of a primary care practitioner or women's health care practitioner within a reasonable period of time after provision of the hormonal contraceptive; and
(f) Either dispense the hormonal contraceptive, or refer the patient to a pharmacy that may dispense the hormonal contraceptive, as soon as practicable after the pharmacist determines that the patient should receive the medication.
(5) The rules promulgated under this section shall prohibit a pharmacist from requiring a patient to schedule an appointment with the pharmacist for the provision or dispensing of a hormonal contraceptive.
(6) (a) A pharmacist, pharmacist's employer, or pharmacist's agent may charge an annual administrative fee for services provided pursuant to this section in addition to any costs associated with the dispensing of the drug and paid by the pharmacy benefit.
(b) Upon an oral, telephonic, electronic, or written request from a patient or customer, a pharmacist or pharmacist's employee shall disclose the total cost that a consumer would pay for pharmacist-provided hormonal contraceptives. As used in this paragraph (b), "total cost" includes providing the consumer with specific information regarding the price of the hormonal contraceptive and the price of the administrative fee charged. This limitation is not intended to interfere with other contractually agreed-upon terms between a pharmacist, a pharmacist's employer, or a pharmacist's agent, and a health insurance plan or insurer. Patients who are insured or covered and receive a pharmacy benefit that covers the cost of hormonal contraceptives shall not be required to pay an administrative fee. These patients shall be required to pay co-payments pursuant to the terms and conditions of their coverage.
(7) All state and federal laws governing insurance coverage of contraceptive drugs, devices, products, and services shall apply to hormonal contraceptives provided by a pharmacist under this section.
(8) The State Board of Pharmacy and the State Board Of Medical Licensure are authorized to ensure compliance with this section, and each board is specifically charged with the enforcement of this section with respect to its respective licensees.
(9) Any pharmacist or prescriber acting in good faith and with reasonable care involved in the provision of hormonal contraceptives pursuant to this section shall be immune from disciplinary or adverse administrative actions under the Pharmacy Practice Act for acts or omissions during the provision of a hormonal contraceptive.
(10) Any pharmacist or prescriber involved in the provision of hormonal contraceptives pursuant to this section shall be immune from civil liability in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct for actions authorized by this section.
(11) This section shall not apply to a valid patient-specific prescription for a hormonal contraceptive issued by an authorized prescriber and dispensed by a pharmacist pursuant to that valid prescription.
(12) A pharmacist who does want to provide hormonal contraceptives to a patient because it violates the pharmacist's conscience has the right to decline to provide hormonal contraceptives under the Health Care Rights of Conscience Act, Section 41-107-1 et seq., but any pharmacist who declines to provide hormonal contraceptives to a patient for that reason shall refer the patient to another pharmacist who will provide hormonal contraceptives to the patient.
SECTION 8. Section 73-21-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-21-73. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Administer" means the direct application of a prescription drug pursuant to a lawful order of a practitioner to the body of a patient by injection, inhalation, ingestion or any other means.
(b) "Biological product" means the same as that term is defined in 42 USC Section 262.
(c) "Board of Pharmacy," "Pharmacy Board," "MSBP" or "board" means the State Board of Pharmacy.
(d) "Compounding" means (i) the production, preparation, propagation, conversion or processing of a sterile or nonsterile drug or device either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin or independently by means of chemical or biological synthesis or from bulk chemicals or the preparation, mixing, measuring, assembling, packaging or labeling of a drug or device as a result of a practitioner's prescription drug order or initiative based on the practitioner/patient/pharmacist relationship in the course of professional practice, or (ii) for the purpose of, as an incident to, research, teaching or chemical analysis and not for sale or dispensing. Compounding also includes the preparation of drugs or devices in anticipation of prescription drug orders based on routine regularly observed prescribing patterns.
(e) "Continuing education unit" means ten (10) clock hours of study or other such activity as may be approved by the board, including, but not limited to, all programs which have been approved by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education.
(f) "Deliver" or "delivery" means the actual, constructive or attempted transfer in any manner of a drug or device from one (1) person to another, whether or not for a consideration, including, but not limited to, delivery by mailing or shipping.
(g) "Device" means an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent or other similar or related article, including any component part or accessory which is required under federal or state law to be prescribed by a practitioner and dispensed by a pharmacist.
(h) "Dispense" or "dispensing" means the interpretation of a valid prescription of a practitioner by a pharmacist and the subsequent preparation of the drug or device for administration to or use by a patient or other individual entitled to receive the drug.
(i) "Distribute" means the delivery of a drug or device other than by administering or dispensing to persons other than the ultimate consumer.
(j) "Drug" means:
(i) Articles recognized as drugs in the official United States Pharmacopeia, official National Formulary, official Homeopathic Pharmacopeia, other drug compendium or any supplement to any of them;
(ii) Articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in man or other animals;
(iii) Articles other than food intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals; and
(iv) Articles intended for use as a component of any articles specified in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of this paragraph.
(k) "Drugroom" means a business, which does not require the services of a pharmacist, where prescription drugs or prescription devices are bought, sold, maintained or provided to consumers.
(l) "Extern" means a student in the professional program of a school of pharmacy accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education who is making normal progress toward completion of a professional degree in pharmacy.
(m) "Foreign pharmacy graduate" means a person whose undergraduate pharmacy degree was conferred by a recognized school of pharmacy outside of the United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Recognized schools of pharmacy are those colleges and universities listed in the World Health Organization's World Directory of Schools of Pharmacy, or otherwise approved by the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certification program as established by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
(n) "Generic equivalent drug product" means a drug product which (i) contains the identical active chemical ingredient of the same strength, quantity and dosage form; (ii) is of the same generic drug name as determined by the United States Adoptive Names and accepted by the United States Food and Drug Administration; and (iii) conforms to such rules and regulations as may be adopted by the board for the protection of the public to assure that such drug product is therapeutically equivalent.
(o) "Interchangeable biological product" or "I.B." means a biological product that the federal Food and Drug Administration:
(i) Has licensed and determined as meeting the standards for interchangeability under 42 USC Section 262(k)(4); or
(ii) Has determined is therapeutically equivalent as set forth in the latest edition of or supplement to the federal Food and Drug Administration's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations.
(p) "Internet" means collectively the myriad of computer and telecommunications facilities, including equipment and operating software, which comprise the interconnected worldwide network of networks that employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any predecessor or successor protocol to such protocol, to communicate information of all kinds by wire or radio.
(q) "Interested directly" means being employed by, having full or partial ownership of, or control of, any facility permitted or licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Pharmacy.
(r) "Interested indirectly" means having a spouse who is employed by any facility permitted or licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Pharmacy.
(s) "Intern" means a person who has graduated from a school of pharmacy but has not yet become licensed as a pharmacist.
(t) "Manufacturer" means a person, business or other entity engaged in the production, preparation, propagation, conversion or processing of a prescription drug or device, if such actions are associated with promotion and marketing of such drugs or devices.
(u) "Manufacturer's distributor" means any person or business who is not an employee of a manufacturer, but who distributes sample drugs or devices, as defined under subsection (i) of this section, under contract or business arrangement for a manufacturer to practitioners.
(v) "Manufacturing" of prescription products means the production, preparation, propagation, conversion or processing of a drug or device, either directly or indirectly, by extraction from substances from natural origin or independently by means of chemical or biological synthesis, or from bulk chemicals and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance(s) or labeling or relabeling of its container, if such actions are associated with promotion and marketing of such drug or devices.
(w) "Misappropriation of a prescription drug" means to illegally or unlawfully convert a drug, as defined in subsection (i) of this section, to one's own use or to the use of another.
(x) "Nonprescription drugs" means nonnarcotic medicines or drugs that may be sold without a prescription and are prepackaged and labeled for use by the consumer in accordance with the requirements of the statutes and regulations of this state and the federal government.
(y) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association or any other legal entity.
(z) "Pharmacist" means an individual health care provider licensed by this state to engage in the practice of pharmacy. This recognizes a pharmacist as a learned professional who is authorized to provide patient services.
(aa) "Pharmacy" means any location for which a pharmacy permit is required and in which prescription drugs are maintained, compounded and dispensed for patients by a pharmacist. This definition includes any location where pharmacy-related services are provided by a pharmacist.
(bb) "Prepackaging" means the act of placing small precounted quantities of drug products in containers suitable for dispensing or administering in anticipation of prescriptions or orders.
(cc) "Unlawful or unauthorized possession" means physical holding or control by a pharmacist of a controlled substance outside the usual and lawful course of employment.
(dd) "Practice of pharmacy" means a health care service that includes, but is not limited to, the compounding, dispensing, and labeling of drugs or devices; interpreting and evaluating prescriptions; administering and distributing drugs and devices; the compounding, dispensing and labeling of drugs and devices; maintaining prescription drug records; advising and consulting concerning therapeutic values, content, hazards and uses of drugs and devices; initiating or modifying of drug therapy in accordance with written guidelines or protocols previously established and approved by the board; selecting drugs; participating in drug utilization reviews; storing prescription drugs and devices; ordering lab work in accordance with written guidelines or protocols as defined by paragraph (nn) of this section; providing pharmacotherapeutic consultations; providing hormonal contraceptives pursuant to Section 73-21-131, supervising supportive personnel and such other acts, services, operations or transactions necessary or incidental to the conduct of the foregoing.
(ee) "Practitioner" means a physician, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care provider authorized by law to diagnose and prescribe drugs.
(ff) "Prescription" means a written, verbal or electronically transmitted order issued by a practitioner for a drug or device to be dispensed for a patient by a pharmacist. "Prescription" includes a standing order issued by a practitioner to an individual pharmacy that authorizes the pharmacy to dispense an opioid antagonist to certain persons without the person to whom the opioid antagonist is dispensed needing to have an individual prescription, as authorized by Section 41-29-319(3).
(gg) "Prescription drug" or "legend drug" means a drug which is required under federal law to be labeled with either of the following statements prior to being dispensed or delivered:
(i) "Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription," or
(ii) "Caution: Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian"; or a drug which is required by any applicable federal or state law or regulation to be dispensed on prescription only or is restricted to use by practitioners only.
(hh) "Product selection" means the dispensing of a generic equivalent drug product or an interchangeable biological product in lieu of the drug product ordered by the prescriber.
(ii) "Provider" or "primary health care provider" includes a pharmacist who provides health care services within his or her scope of practice pursuant to state law and regulation.
(jj) "Registrant" means a pharmacy or other entity which is registered with the Mississippi State Board of Pharmacy to buy, sell or maintain controlled substances.
(kk) "Repackager" means a person registered by the federal Food and Drug Administration as a repackager who removes a prescription drug product from its marketed container and places it into another, usually of smaller size, to be distributed to persons other than the consumer.
(ll) "Reverse distributor" means a business operator that is responsible for the receipt and appropriate return or disposal of unwanted, unneeded or outdated stocks of controlled or uncontrolled drugs from a pharmacy.
(mm) "Supportive personnel" or "pharmacist technician" means those individuals utilized in pharmacies whose responsibilities are to provide nonjudgmental technical services concerned with the preparation and distribution of drugs under the direct supervision and responsibility of a pharmacist.
(nn) "Written guideline or protocol" means an agreement in which any practitioner authorized to prescribe drugs delegates to a pharmacist authority to conduct specific prescribing functions in an institutional setting, or with the practitioner's individual patients, provided that a specific protocol agreement between the practitioner and the pharmacist is signed and filed as required by law or by rule or regulation of the board.
(oo) "Wholesaler" means a person who buys or otherwise acquires prescription drugs or prescription devices for resale or distribution, or for repackaging for resale or distribution, to persons other than consumers.
(pp) "Pharmacy benefit manager" has the same meaning as defined in Section 73-21-153.
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
