SF 2194 (LSB 5830XS (3) 84)

SENATE FILE 2194

BY  SORENSON

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the prohibition of terminations of pregnancy and abortions, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 135.1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   For the purposes of chapter 155 and Title IV, subtitle 2, excluding chapter 146, unless otherwise defined:
    Sec. 2.  Section 135.11, subsections 10 and 12, Code Supplement 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   10.  Enforce the law relative to chapter 146 and “Health-related Professions”, Title IV, subtitle 3, excluding chapter 155.
   12.  Establish, publish, and enforce rules not inconsistent with law for the enforcement of the provisions of chapters 125 and 155, and Title IV, subtitle 2, excluding chapter 146 and for the enforcement of the various laws, the administration and supervision of which are imposed upon the department.
    Sec. 3.  Section 144.29A, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  A health care provider who initially identifies and diagnoses a spontaneous termination of pregnancy or who induces a termination of pregnancy shall file with the department a report for each termination within thirty days of the occurrence. The health care provider shall make a good faith effort to obtain all of the following information that is available with respect to each termination:
   a.  The confidential health care provider code as assigned by the department.
   b.  The report tracking number.
   c.  The maternal health services region of the Iowa department of public health, as designated as of July 1, 1997, in which the patient resides.
   d.  The race of the patient.
   e.  The age of the patient.
   f.  The marital status of the patient.
   g.  The educational level of the patient.
   h.  The number of previous pregnancies, live births, and spontaneous or induced terminations of pregnancies.

   i.  The month and year in which the termination occurred.
   j.  The number of weeks since the patient’s last menstrual period and a clinical estimate of gestation.
   k.  The method used for an induced termination, including whether mifepristone was used.
   2.  It is the intent of the general assembly that the information shall be collected, reproduced, released, and disclosed in a manner specified by rule of the department, adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, which ensures the anonymity of the patient who experiences a termination of pregnancy, the health care provider who identifies and diagnoses or induces a termination of pregnancy, and the hospital, clinic, or other health facility in which a termination of pregnancy is identified and diagnosed or induced. The department may share information with federal public health officials for the purposes of securing federal funding or conducting public health research. However, in sharing the information, the department shall not relinquish control of the information, and any agreement entered into by the department with federal public health officials to share information shall prohibit the use, reproduction, release, or disclosure of the information by federal public health officials in a manner which violates this section. The department shall publish, annually, a demographic summary of the information obtained pursuant to this section, except that the department shall not reproduce, release, or disclose any information obtained pursuant to this section which reveals the identity of any patient, health care provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility, and shall ensure anonymity in the following ways:
   a.  The department may use information concerning the report tracking number or concerning the identity of a reporting health care provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility only for purposes of information collection. The department shall not reproduce, release, or disclose this information for any purpose other than for use in annually publishing the demographic summary under this section.
   b.  The department shall enter the information, from any report of termination submitted, within thirty days of receipt of the report, and shall immediately destroy the report following entry of the information. However, entry of the information from a report shall not include any health care provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility identification information including, but not limited to, the confidential health care provider code, as assigned by the department.
   c.  To protect confidentiality, the department shall limit release of information to release in an aggregate form which prevents identification of any individual patient, health care provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility. For the purposes of this paragraph, “aggregate form” means a compilation of the information received by the department on termination of pregnancies for each information item listed, with the exceptions of the report tracking number, the health care provider code, and any set of information for which the amount is so small that the confidentiality of any person to whom the information relates may be compromised. The department shall establish a methodology to provide a statistically verifiable basis for any determination of the correct amount at which information may be released so that the confidentiality of any person is not compromised.
    Sec. 4.  Section 144.29A, subsection 8, Code 2011, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 5.  Section 216.6, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 2011, is amended by striking the paragraph.
    Sec. 6.  Section 216.13, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   216.13  Exceptions for retirement plans, abortion coverage, life, disability, and health benefits.
   The provisions of this chapter relating to discrimination because of age do not apply to a retirement plan or benefit system of an employer unless the plan or system is a mere subterfuge adopted for the purpose of evading this chapter.
   1.  However, a retirement plan or benefit system shall not require the involuntary retirement of a person under the age of seventy because of that person’s age. This paragraph does not prohibit the following:
   a.  The involuntary retirement of a person who has attained the age of sixty-five and has for the two prior years been employed in a bona fide executive or high policymaking position and who is entitled to an immediate, nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit from a pension, profit-sharing, savings, or deferred compensation plan of the employer which equals twenty-seven thousand dollars. This retirement benefit test may be adjusted according to the regulations prescribed by the United States secretary of labor pursuant to Pub. L. No. 95-256, section 3.
   b.  The involuntary retirement of a person covered by a collective bargaining agreement which was entered into by a labor organization and was in effect on September 1, 1977. This exemption does not apply after the termination of that agreement or January 1, 1980, whichever first occurs.
   2.  A health insurance program provided by an employer may exclude coverage of abortion, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or where medical complications have arisen from an abortion.
   3.2.  An employee welfare plan may provide life, disability or health insurance benefits which vary by age based on actuarial differences if the employer contributes equally for all the participating employees or may provide for employer contributions differing by age if the benefits for all the participating employees do not vary by age.
    Sec. 7.  Section 602.8102, subsection 31, Code 2011, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 8.  Section 707.7, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   707.7  Feticide.
   1.  Any person who intentionally terminates a human pregnancy, with the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person, after the end of the second trimester of the pregnancy where death of the fetus results, commits feticide. Feticide is a class “C”
 
“A” felony.
   2.  Any person who attempts to intentionally terminate a human pregnancy, with the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person, after the end of the second trimester of the pregnancy where death of the fetus does not result, commits attempted feticide. Attempted feticide is a class “D”
 
“B” felony.
   3.  Any person who terminates a human pregnancy, with the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person, who is not a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery under the provisions of chapter 148, commits a class “C” felony.

For the purposes of this section, “termination of a human pregnancy” means the use of any means to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with the intent other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus. “Termination of a human pregnancy” does not include a fetal death as defined in section 144.1 or the spontaneous termination of pregnancy as defined in section 144.29A.
   4.  This section shall not apply to the termination of a human pregnancy performed by a physician licensed in this state to practice medicine or surgery or osteopathic medicine or surgery when in the best clinical judgment of the physician the termination is performed to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person or of the fetus and every reasonable medical effort not inconsistent with preserving the life of the pregnant person is made to preserve the life of a viable fetus.
 
Section 703.1 relating to aiding and abetting and section 703.2 relating to joint criminal conduct shall apply to persons knowingly participating or concerned in the commission of feticide or attempted feticide under this section.
    Sec. 9.  Section 707.8, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   707.8  Nonconsensual termination —— serious injury to a human pregnancy.
   1.  A person who terminates a human pregnancy without the consent of the pregnant person during the commission of a forcible felony is guilty of a class “B”
 
“A” felony.
   2.  A person who terminates a human pregnancy without the consent of the pregnant person during the commission of a felony or felonious assault is guilty of a class “C”
 
“B” felony.
   3.  A person who intentionally terminates a human pregnancy without the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person is guilty of a class “C”
 
“A” felony.
   4.  A person who unintentionally terminates a human pregnancy by any of the means provided pursuant to section 707.6A, subsection 1, is guilty of a class “C”
 
“B” felony.
   5.  A person who by force or intimidation procures the consent of the pregnant person to a termination of a human pregnancy is guilty of a class “C”
 
“B” felony.
   6.  A person who unintentionally terminates a human pregnancy while drag racing in violation of section 321.278 is guilty of a class “D”
 
“C” felony.
   7.  A person who unintentionally terminates a human pregnancy without the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person by the commission of an act in a manner likely to cause the termination of or serious injury to a human pregnancy is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor
 
a class “D” felony.
   8.  A person commits an aggravated misdemeanor
 
a class “D” felony when the person intentionally causes serious injury to a human pregnancy by the commission of an act in a manner likely to cause the termination of or serious injury to a human pregnancy.

   9.  A person commits an aggravated misdemeanor
 
a class “D” felony when the person unintentionally causes serious injury to a human pregnancy by any of the means described in section 707.6A, subsection 1.
   10.  A person commits a serious
 
an aggravated misdemeanor when the person unintentionally causes serious injury to a human pregnancy by the commission of an act in a manner likely to cause the termination of or serious injury to the human pregnancy.
   11.  For the purposes of this section “serious injury to a human pregnancy” means, relative to the human pregnancy, disabling mental illness, or bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, and includes but is not limited to skull fractures, rib fractures, and metaphyseal fractures of the long bones.
   12.  As used in this section, actions which cause the termination of or serious injury to a pregnancy do not apply to any of the following:
   a.  An
 
unintentional act or omission of the pregnant person.
   b.  A termination of or a serious injury to a pregnancy which is caused by the performance of an approved medical procedure performed by a person licensed in this state to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery, irrespective of the duration of the pregnancy and with or without the voluntary consent of the pregnant person when circumstances preclude the pregnant person from providing consent.
   c.  An act committed in self-defense or in defense of another person or any other act committed if legally justified or excused.
    Sec. 10.  REPEALS.
   1.  Sections 232.5, 707.8A, 707.9, and 707.10, Code 2011, are repealed.

   2.  Chapters 135L and 146, Code 2011, are repealed.
    Sec. 11.  SEVERABILITY.  If any provision of this Act or the application of this Act to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application and, to this end, the provisions of this Act are severable. 
    Sec. 12.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to prohibiting abortions. 
   The bill makes conforming changes throughout the Code to eliminate any reference to allowing abortions or terminations of pregnancy. The bill amends the termination of pregnancy reporting section (Code section 144.29A) to only include the reporting of spontaneous terminations of pregnancy.
   The bill amends a Code section relating to unfair employment practices (Code section 216.6) to eliminate references to disabilities caused or contributed to by legal abortion. 
   The bill amends a Code section relating to discrimination relating to health insurance abortion coverage (Code section 216.13) to eliminate the reference to abortion coverage.
   The bill amends Code section 707.7 (feticide) to provide for application of the elements of the crime of feticide at any point in the pregnancy rather than only after the end of the second trimester. The bill also increases the penalty from a class “C” felony to a class “A” felony for the intentional termination of a human pregnancy with the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person when the death of the fetus results. (A class “C” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than 10 years and a fine of at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000; and a class “A” felony is punishable by confinement for life without possibility of parole). The bill also increases the penalty from a class “D” felony to a class “B” felony for the intentional termination of a human pregnancy with the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person when death of the fetus does not result. (A class “D” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than five years and a fine of at least $750 but not more than $7,500; and a class “B” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than 25 years.) The bill also provides that the offenses of aiding and abetting and joint criminal conduct apply to commission of a feticide. 
   The bill amends Code section 707.8 (nonconsensual termination —— serious injury to a human pregnancy) to increase the penalties for each offense. The amendment to the Code section also exempts an act or omission by the pregnant person only if the act or omission was unintentional.
   The bill strikes and repeals Code provisions that relate to allowing abortions under certain circumstances. The bill repeals Code section 232.5 (abortion performed on a minor —— waiver of notification proceedings), Code section 707.8A (partial birth abortion), Code section 707.9 (murder of a fetus aborted alive), Code section 707.10 (duty to preserve the life of the fetus), Code chapter 135L (notification requirements regarding pregnant minors), and Code chapter 146 (abortions —— refusal to perform). The bill also makes conforming changes to strike references to Code provisions stricken or repealed in the bill.
   The bill provides for severability of any provision or application of the bill that is held invalid from the provisions or applications of the bill which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application. The bill takes effect upon enactment.