Text: HF02228 Text: HF02230 Text: HF02200 - HF02299 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE FILE 2229
1 2
1 3 AN ACT
1 4 RELATING TO INFORMED CONSENT PROVISIONS RELATING TO AN
1 5 ABORTION AND PROVIDING CRIMINAL PENALTIES, AND PROVIDING
1 6 AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
1 7
1 8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 9
1 10 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 146A.1 TITLE.
1 11 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
1 12 "Woman's Right to Know Act".
1 13 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 146A.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 14 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
1 15 requires:
1 16 1. "Abortion" means abortion as defined in section 146.1.
1 17 2. "Attempt to perform an unlawful abortion" means an act,
1 18 or an omission of an act required by law, that constitutes a
1 19 substantial step in a course of conduct intended to culminate
1 20 in the performance of an abortion in violation of this
1 21 chapter.
1 22 3. "Department" means the Iowa department of public
1 23 health.
1 24 4. "Medical emergency" means any condition which, on the
1 25 basis of a physician's good faith clinical judgment, so
1 26 complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to
1 27 necessitate the immediate performance of an abortion to avert
1 28 the pregnant woman's death, or to necessitate the immediate
1 29 performance of an abortion to avert a serious risk of
1 30 substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily
1 31 function if the performance of the abortion is delayed.
1 32 5. "Physician" means a person licensed to practice
1 33 medicine and surgery pursuant to chapter 148 or osteopathic
1 34 medicine and surgery pursuant to chapter 150A.
1 35 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 146A.3 VOLUNTARY AND INFORMED
2 1 CONSENT.
2 2 1. An abortion shall not be performed in this state
2 3 without the voluntary and informed consent of the woman upon
2 4 whom the abortion is to be performed. Except in the case of a
2 5 medical emergency, consent to an abortion is voluntary and
2 6 informed only if the requirements of this section are met.
2 7 2. The referring physician, the physician who will perform
2 8 the abortion, or an agent of either physician shall provide
2 9 all of the following information to the woman by telephone, by
2 10 audiotape, or in person, at least twenty-four hours before the
2 11 abortion:
2 12 a. Information that medical assistance benefits may be
2 13 available to the woman for prenatal care, childbirth, and
2 14 neonatal care.
2 15 b. Information that the putative father is liable to
2 16 assist in the support of the child and that efforts to collect
2 17 support may result in, but are not guaranteed to result in,
2 18 financial support of the child, even if the putative father
2 19 has offered to pay for the abortion.
2 20 c. Information that the woman has the right to review the
2 21 printed materials described in subsection 3.
2 22 d. Information that the patient may be eligible for
2 23 medical assistance benefits to cover the costs of an abortion
2 24 under certain circumstances.
2 25 3. After being informed of the woman's right to review
2 26 printed materials pursuant to subsection 2, if the woman
2 27 wishes to review the materials, the materials shall be
2 28 provided to the woman at least twenty-four hours before the
2 29 abortion is performed or shall be mailed to the patient by
2 30 regular mail or by restricted certified mail, as defined in
2 31 section 618.15, as requested by the patient. The physician or
2 32 the physician's agent shall orally inform the woman that the
2 33 materials have been provided by the state and that they
2 34 describe the unborn child and list agencies that offer
2 35 alternatives to abortion. The printed materials shall include
3 1 all of the following:
3 2 a. Geographically indexed materials designed to inform the
3 3 woman of public and private agencies and services available to
3 4 assist a woman through pregnancy, at the time of childbirth,
3 5 and while the child is dependent, including adoption agencies.
3 6 The materials shall include a comprehensive list of the
3 7 agencies available, categorized by the type of services
3 8 offered, and a description of the manner, including telephone
3 9 numbers, in which the agencies may be contacted. The
3 10 department may also provide a toll-free, twenty-four-hour-a-
3 11 day telephone number which may be called to obtain, orally, a
3 12 list and description of agencies in the locality of the caller
3 13 and of the services offered.
3 14 b. Materials designed to inform the woman of the probable
3 15 anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn
3 16 child at two-week gestational increments from the time that it
3 17 is medically possible to make a determination of pregnancy to
3 18 full term. The materials shall include any relevant
3 19 information regarding the possibility of the survival of the
3 20 unborn child and pictures or drawings representing the
3 21 development of the unborn child at two-week gestational
3 22 increments, provided that any pictures or drawings shall
3 23 contain the dimensions of the unborn child and shall be
3 24 realistic and appropriate for the state of pregnancy depicted.
3 25 The materials shall be objective, nonjudgmental, and designed
3 26 to convey only accurate scientific information about the
3 27 unborn child at various gestational stages. The materials
3 28 shall also contain objective information describing the
3 29 methods of abortion procedures commonly used, the medical
3 30 risks commonly associated with each such procedure, the
3 31 possible detrimental psychological effects of abortion, and
3 32 the medical risks commonly associated with carrying an unborn
3 33 child to term.
3 34 4. The referring physician, the physician who is to
3 35 perform the abortion, or the agent of either physician, who
4 1 provides the information and printed materials pursuant to
4 2 subsections 2 and 3, shall obtain written certification from
4 3 the woman that the information required pursuant to subsection
4 4 2 was provided. The referring physician, the physician who is
4 5 to perform the abortion, or the agent of either physician, who
4 6 obtains the written certification under this subsection shall
4 7 retain a copy of the certification and shall provide a copy of
4 8 the certification to the woman. A physician shall not perform
4 9 an abortion on a woman prior to obtaining the completed
4 10 certification form from the woman.
4 11 5. On or before October 1, 2000, the department shall
4 12 cause the information referred to in subsection 2 to be
4 13 published in printed format. The information shall be
4 14 provided in an easily comprehensible manner. The information
4 15 shall be published in a typeface large enough to be clearly
4 16 legible. The printed information shall be available from the
4 17 department at no cost, upon request, and in an appropriate
4 18 number, to any person.
4 19 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 146A.4 PROCEDURE IN CASE OF MEDICAL
4 20 EMERGENCY.
4 21 If a medical emergency necessitates the performance of an
4 22 abortion, the physician shall inform the woman, prior to the
4 23 performance of the abortion, if possible, of the medical
4 24 indications supporting the physician's judgment that the
4 25 immediate performance of an abortion is necessary to avert the
4 26 woman's death or that a twenty-four-hour delay in the
4 27 performance of an abortion will create serious risk of
4 28 substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily
4 29 function.
4 30 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 146A.5 CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
4 31 1. A person who knowingly or recklessly performs or
4 32 attempts to perform an abortion in violation of this chapter
4 33 is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
4 34 2. A penalty shall not be assessed under this chapter
4 35 against the woman upon whom the abortion is performed or
5 1 attempted to be performed. A penalty shall not be assessed
5 2 for failure of a woman to comply with the requirement of
5 3 written certification pursuant to section 146A.3, if the
5 4 department has not made the information available at the time
5 5 the physician or the physician's agent is required to inform
5 6 the woman of the woman's right to review the information.
5 7 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 146A.6 PROTECTION OF PRIVACY IN
5 8 COURT PROCEEDINGS – PENALTY.
5 9 1. In every criminal proceeding brought pursuant to this
5 10 chapter, the court proceedings shall be conducted in a manner
5 11 which protects the confidentiality of the woman, and all court
5 12 documents pertaining to the proceedings shall remain
5 13 confidential and shall be sealed. The court shall direct the
5 14 exclusion of individuals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to
5 15 the extent necessary to safeguard the woman's identity from
5 16 public disclosure.
5 17 2. This section shall not be construed to conceal the
5 18 identity of witnesses from the defendant.
5 19 3. A person who knowingly violates the confidentiality
5 20 requirements of this section relating to court proceedings and
5 21 documents is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
5 22 Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect October 1,
5 23 2000.
5 24
5 25
5 26
5 27 BRENT SIEGRIST
5 28 Speaker of the House
5 29
5 30
5 31
5 32 MARY E. KRAMER
5 33 President of the Senate
5 34
5 35 I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
6 1 is known as House File 2229, Seventy-eighth General Assembly.
6 2
6 3
6 4
6 5 ELIZABETH ISAACSON
6 6 Chief Clerk of the House
6 7 Approved , 2000
6 8
6 9
6 10
6 11 THOMAS J. VILSACK
6 12 Governor
Text: HF02228 Text: HF02230 Text: HF02200 - HF02299 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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