Text: HF00340 Text: HF00342 Text: HF00300 - HF00399 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE FILE 341
1 2
1 3 AN ACT
1 4 RELATING TO INFORMED CONSENT TO AN ABORTION AND PROVIDING
1 5 A CRIMINAL PENALTY, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
1 6
1 7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 8
1 9 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 146A.1 TITLE.
1 10 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
1 11 "Woman's Right to Know Act".
1 12 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 146A.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 13 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
1 14 requires:
1 15 1. "Abortion" means abortion as defined in section 146.1.
1 16 2. "Attempt to perform an unlawful abortion" means an act,
1 17 or an omission of an act required by law, that constitutes a
1 18 substantial step in a course of conduct intended to culminate
1 19 in the performance of an abortion in violation of this
1 20 chapter.
1 21 3. "Department" means the Iowa department of public
1 22 health.
1 23 4. "Medical emergency" means any condition which, on the
1 24 basis of a physician's good faith clinical judgment, so
1 25 complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to
1 26 necessitate the immediate performance of an abortion to avert
1 27 the pregnant woman's death, or to necessitate the immediate
1 28 performance of an abortion to avert a serious risk of
1 29 substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily
1 30 function if the performance of the abortion is delayed.
1 31 5. "Physician" means a person licensed to practice
1 32 medicine and surgery pursuant to chapter 148 or osteopathic
1 33 medicine and surgery pursuant to chapter 150A.
1 34 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 146A.3 VOLUNTARY AND INFORMED
1 35 CONSENT.
2 1 1. An abortion shall not be performed in this state
2 2 without the voluntary and informed consent of the woman upon
2 3 whom the abortion is to be performed. Except in the case of a
2 4 medical emergency, consent to an abortion is voluntary and
2 5 informed only if the requirements of this section are met.
2 6 2. The referring physician, the physician who will perform
2 7 the abortion, or an agent of either physician shall provide
2 8 all of the following information to the woman by telephone, by
2 9 audiotape, or in person, at least twenty-four hours before the
2 10 abortion:
2 11 a. Information that medical assistance benefits may be
2 12 available to the woman for prenatal care, childbirth, and
2 13 neonatal care.
2 14 b. Information that the putative father is liable to
2 15 assist in the support of the child and that efforts to collect
2 16 support may result in, but are not guaranteed to result in,
2 17 financial support of the child, even if the putative father
2 18 has offered to pay for the abortion.
2 19 c. Information that medical assistance benefits may be
2 20 available to the woman for an abortion under certain
2 21 circumstances.
2 22 d. Information that contraceptives are available to the
2 23 woman and that medical assistance benefits may be available to
2 24 the woman for coverage of the costs of contraceptives.
2 25 e. Information that the woman has the right to review the
2 26 printed materials described in subsection 3.
2 27 3. After being informed of the woman's right to review
2 28 printed materials pursuant to subsection 2, if the woman
2 29 wishes to review the materials, the materials shall be
2 30 provided to the woman at least twenty-four hours before the
2 31 abortion is performed or shall be mailed to the woman by
2 32 regular mail or by restricted certified mail, as defined in
2 33 section 618.15, as requested by the woman. The physician or
2 34 the physician's agent shall orally inform the woman that the
2 35 materials have been provided by the state and that they
3 1 describe the unborn child and list agencies that offer
3 2 alternatives to abortion. The printed materials shall include
3 3 all of the following:
3 4 a. Geographically indexed materials designed to inform the
3 5 woman of public and private agencies and services available to
3 6 assist a woman through pregnancy, at the time of childbirth,
3 7 and while the child is dependent, including adoption agencies.
3 8 The materials shall include a comprehensive list of the
3 9 agencies available, categorized by the type of services
3 10 offered, and a description of the manner, including telephone
3 11 numbers, in which the agencies may be contacted. The
3 12 department may also provide a toll-free, twenty-four-hour-a-
3 13 day telephone number which may be called to obtain from a live
3 14 person any relevant information, including but not limited to
3 15 a list and description of agencies in the locality of the
3 16 caller and of the services offered.
3 17 b. Materials that encourage consideration of placement for
3 18 adoption. The materials shall inform the woman of the
3 19 benefits of adoption, including the requirements of
3 20 confidentiality in the adoption process, the importance of
3 21 adoption to individuals and society, and the state's interest
3 22 in promoting adoption by preferring childbirth over abortion.
3 23 c. Materials designed to inform the woman of the probable
3 24 anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn
3 25 child at two-week gestational increments from the time that it
3 26 is medically possible to make a determination of pregnancy to
3 27 full term. The materials shall include any relevant
3 28 information regarding the possibility of the survival of the
3 29 unborn child and pictures or drawings representing the
3 30 development of the unborn child at two-week gestational
3 31 increments, provided that any pictures or drawings shall
3 32 contain the dimensions of the unborn child and shall be
3 33 realistic and appropriate for the state of pregnancy depicted.
3 34 The materials shall be objective, nonjudgmental, and designed
3 35 to convey only accurate scientific information about the
4 1 unborn child at various gestational stages. The materials
4 2 shall also contain objective information describing the
4 3 methods of abortion procedures commonly used, the medical
4 4 risks commonly associated with each such procedure, the
4 5 possible detrimental psychological effects of abortion, and
4 6 the medical risks commonly associated with carrying an unborn
4 7 child to term.
4 8 4. The referring physician, the physician who is to
4 9 perform the abortion, or the agent of either physician, who
4 10 provides the information and printed materials pursuant to
4 11 subsections 2 and 3, shall obtain written certification from
4 12 the woman that the information required pursuant to subsection
4 13 2 was provided. The referring physician, the physician who is
4 14 to perform the abortion, or the agent of either physician, who
4 15 obtains the written certification under this subsection shall
4 16 retain a copy of the certification and shall provide a copy of
4 17 the certification to the woman. A physician shall not perform
4 18 an abortion on a woman prior to obtaining the completed
4 19 certification form from the woman.
4 20 5. On or before October 1, 2001, the department shall
4 21 cause the information referred to in subsection 2 to be
4 22 published in printed format. The information shall be
4 23 provided in an easily comprehensible manner. The information
4 24 shall be published in a typeface large enough to be clearly
4 25 legible. The printed information shall be available from the
4 26 department at no cost, upon request, and in an appropriate
4 27 number, to any person.
4 28 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 146A.4 PROCEDURE IN CASE OF MEDICAL
4 29 EMERGENCY.
4 30 If a medical emergency necessitates the performance of an
4 31 abortion, the physician shall inform the woman, prior to the
4 32 performance of the abortion, if possible, of the medical
4 33 indications supporting the physician's judgment that the
4 34 immediate performance of an abortion is necessary to avert the
4 35 woman's death or that a twenty-four-hour delay in the
5 1 performance of an abortion will create a serious risk of
5 2 substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily
5 3 function.
5 4 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 146A.5 CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
5 5 1. A person who knowingly or recklessly performs or
5 6 attempts to perform an abortion in violation of this chapter
5 7 is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
5 8 2. A criminal penalty shall not be assessed under this
5 9 chapter against a woman upon whom an abortion is performed or
5 10 attempted to be performed. A criminal penalty shall not be
5 11 assessed for failure of a woman to comply with the requirement
5 12 of written certification pursuant to section 146A.3, if the
5 13 department has not made the information available at the time
5 14 the physician or the physician's agent is required to inform
5 15 the woman of the woman's right to review the information.
5 16 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 146A.6 PROTECTION OF PRIVACY IN
5 17 COURT PROCEEDINGS – PENALTY.
5 18 1. In every criminal proceeding brought pursuant to this
5 19 chapter, the court proceedings shall be conducted in a manner
5 20 which protects the confidentiality of the woman, and all court
5 21 documents pertaining to the proceedings shall remain
5 22 confidential and shall be sealed. The court shall direct the
5 23 exclusion of individuals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to
5 24 the extent necessary to safeguard the woman's identity from
5 25 public disclosure.
5 26 2. This section shall not be construed to conceal the
5 27 identity of witnesses from the defendant.
5 28 3. A person who knowingly violates the confidentiality
5 29 requirements of this section relating to court proceedings and
5 30 documents is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
5 31 Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect October 1,
5 32 2001.
5 33
5 34
5 35
6 1 BRENT SIEGRIST
6 2 Speaker of the House
6 3
6 4
6 5
6 6 MARY E. KRAMER
6 7 President of the Senate
6 8
6 9 I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
6 10 is known as House File 341, Seventy-ninth General Assembly.
6 11
6 12
6 13
6 14 MARGARET THOMSON
6 15 Chief Clerk of the House
6 16 Approved , 2001
6 17
6 18
6 19
6 20 THOMAS J. VILSACK
6 21 Governor
Text: HF00340 Text: HF00342 Text: HF00300 - HF00399 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
© 2001 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
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