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HB 1180MISSISSIPPISession 2026State Billdead

Did Not Advance

Mississippi bill requires family notification and permits autopsies without court orders when COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths are suspected

Original title: COVID-19; require notice to family if death is believed to be caused by vaccination.

Last action · February 3, 2026: 02/03 (H) Died In CommitteeSponsor: Carolyn Crawford

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

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What This Bill Proposed

Official description

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-61-65, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE A PERSON'S FAMILY TO BE NOTIFIED OF AN OPINION BY A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER OR MEDICAL EXAMINER THAT THE DEATH OF THE PERSON MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY OR RELATED TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF A VACCINE FOR COVID-19 TO THE DECEASED; TO AMEND SECTION 41-37-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE AN AUTOPSY TO BE PERFORMED WITHOUT A COURT ORDER WHEN REQUESTED BY A FAMILY MEMBER OF A PERSON WHOSE DEATH MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY OR RELATED TO THE COVID-19 VACCINE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Why it matters

Establishes a formal notification duty for specific medical deaths and alters family procedural rights to request postmortem examinations without judicial authorization.

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Surviving family members

Receives mandatory notifications regarding suspected vaccine-related deaths and gains the legal authority to request autopsies without obtaining a court order.

Directly affected

Attending physicians and medical examiners

Must evaluate deaths for potential vaccine links, issue family notifications, request autopsies, and receive civil liability immunity when acting in good faith.

Key Facts

Attending physicians, primary healthcare providers, healthcare providers who pronounce death, county medical examiners, or investigators must notify surviving family members if they believe a death may be caused by or related to a COVID-19 vaccine.
Notification must follow a strict order of preference: surviving spouse, parent, descendants over the age of eighteen, or next of kin.
Family members notified of a suspected vaccine-related death are authorized to request an autopsy without a court order.
No autopsy may be performed under the new provision over the explicit objection of a surviving spouse, surviving parent (if no spouse), or surviving child (if neither spouse nor parent survives).

Show all 6 facts

The act specifies that qualified physicians and medical examiners acting in good faith under Sections 41-61-51 through 41-61-79 are immune from civil liability and damages.
Disagreements regarding medical examiner determinations can be appealed by petitioning the State Medical Examiner in writing, and subsequently the circuit court at the petitioner's expense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who must be notified if a death is suspected to be related to a COVID-19 vaccine?

The medical examiner or investigator must notify, in order of preference, the deceased's surviving spouse, parent, descendants over the age of eighteen, or next of kin.

Can a family request an autopsy without a court order under this bill?

Yes, an autopsy may be performed without a court order when requested by the surviving spouse, parent, descendant over the age of eighteen, or next of kin after being notified of a suspected COVID-19 vaccine-related death.

What happens if a family member objects to an autopsy?

No autopsy shall be held over the objection of the surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse, of any surviving parent, or if neither exists, of any surviving child.

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died in committee.

Procedural history

2 actions

Feb 3, 2026House
02/03 (H) Died In Committee
Jan 19, 2026HouseCommittee
01/19 (H) Referred To Public Health and Human Services;Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

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Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Connected Entities

Carolyn Crawford, American Board of Pathology, State Medical Examiner and 2 more

PersonCarolyn Crawford“Representative who introduced House Bill 1180”Map →

OrganizationAmerican Board of Pathology“Certifies anatomic pathology qualifications for pathologists”Map →

OrganizationState Medical Examiner“Responsible for performing or overseeing autopsies and receiving petitions”Map →

OrganizationState Department of Health“Receives prompt reports of infant autopsies”Map →

OrganizationDepartment of Public Safety“Designates pathologists qualified to perform postmortem examinations”Map →

Sources

Open source document

billstatus.ls.state.ms.us

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance20
Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 45)
Controversy85
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz30
Current news / social attention level

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