House File 144 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 144 BY SALMON , WHEELER , HAGER , SHEETS , KOESTER , WATTS , GASSMAN , FISHER , HOLT , LUNDGREN , GUSTAFSON , HEARTSILL , and BAXTER A BILL FOR An Act relating to the buying or selling of or the 1 experimentation on a fetus or bodily remains resulting from 2 an abortion, providing penalties, and including effective 3 dates. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 1121YH (4) 87 pf/nh

H.F. 144 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 146B.1 Fetuses and bodily remains 1 of abortions —— buying, selling, or experimentation prohibited —— 2 criminal and civil penalties. 3 1. A person shall not experiment upon a fetus intended to be 4 aborted unless the experimentation is therapeutic to the fetus. 5 2. A person shall not perform or offer to perform an 6 abortion if the justification or reason for the abortion 7 is that the bodily remains may be used for animal or human 8 research, experimentation, or transplantation. 9 3. A person shall not knowingly sell, transfer, distribute, 10 give away, accept, use, or attempt to use a fetus or the bodily 11 remains resulting from an abortion. 12 4. A person shall not use a fetus or the bodily remains 13 resulting from an abortion in animal or human research, 14 experimentation, or study, or for transplantation, except under 15 any of the following circumstances: 16 a. For diagnostic or remedial tests, procedures, or 17 observations which have the purpose of determining the life or 18 health of the fetus, or preserving the life or health of the 19 fetus or pregnant woman. 20 b. For pathological study. 21 5. In addition to other remedies available, failure to 22 comply with the requirements of this section shall provide 23 a basis for recovery for the pregnant woman, or the parent 24 or guardian of the pregnant woman if the pregnant woman is a 25 minor, for the unlawful disposition of or experimentation upon 26 a fetus or bodily remains. Such relief may include all of the 27 following: 28 a. Monetary damages for all psychological injuries 29 occasioned by such violation. 30 b. Statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the 31 pregnant woman’s delivery or abortion. 32 c. A basis for professional disciplinary action under 33 chapter 148. 34 d. Upon conviction of a violation of this section, the 35 -1- LSB 1121YH (4) 87 pf/nh 1/ 4

H.F. 144 automatic suspension of the license of the physician for at 1 least one year. 2 6. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 3 “C” felony for each violation. 4 7. For purposes of this section: 5 a. “Abortion” means abortion as defined in section 146.1. 6 b. “Bodily remains” means the physical remains, corpse, 7 or body parts of a dead fetus that has reached the stage of 8 development in which there are cartilaginous structures or 9 fetal or skeletal parts, which remains were extracted or 10 expelled following a fetal death. “Bodily remains” does not 11 include medical waste. 12 c. “Experiment” or “experimentation” means the use of bodily 13 remains in any trial, test, procedure, or observation carried 14 out with the goal of verifying, refuting, or establishing the 15 validity of a hypothesis, but does not include diagnostic 16 or remedial tests, procedures, or observations which have 17 the purpose of determining the life or health of the fetus, 18 preserving the life or health of the fetus or the pregnant 19 woman, or pathological study. 20 d. “Fetal death” means fetal death as defined in section 21 144.1. 22 e. “Medical waste” means discarded biologic product such as 23 blood, tissue, or body parts removed from medical facilities 24 as well as bedding, bandages, syringes, and similar materials 25 that have been used in treating patients, but does not include 26 bodily remains. 27 f. “Pathological study” means the examination of body tissue 28 for diagnostic or forensic purposes. 29 g. “Therapeutic” means intended to treat or cure a disease 30 or disorder by remedial agents or methods. 31 Sec. 2. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION. 32 1. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect existing 33 federal or state law regarding abortion. 34 2. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as creating or 35 -2- LSB 1121YH (4) 87 pf/nh 2/ 4

H.F. 144 recognizing a right to abortion. 1 3. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter generally 2 accepted medical standards. 3 Sec. 3. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Act or the 4 application thereof to any person or circumstances is held 5 invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or 6 applications of the Act which can be given effect without 7 the invalid provisions or application and, to this end, the 8 provisions of this Act are severable. 9 Sec. 4. RIGHT OF INTERVENTION. The general assembly, by 10 joint resolution, may appoint one or more of its members who 11 sponsored or cosponsored this Act in the member’s official 12 capacity to intervene as a matter of right in any case in which 13 the constitutionality of this Act is challenged. 14 Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. This Act, being deemed of 15 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 16 EXPLANATION 17 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 18 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 19 This bill prohibits the buying or selling of and the 20 experimentation on a fetus or the bodily remains resulting from 21 an abortion. 22 The bill prohibits a person from experimenting upon a 23 fetus intended to be aborted unless the experimentation is 24 therapeutic to the fetus; performing or offering to perform 25 an abortion if the justification or reason for the abortion 26 is that the bodily remains may be used for animal or human 27 research, experimentation, or transplantation; or knowingly 28 selling, transferring, distributing, giving away, accepting, 29 using, or attempting to use a fetus or the bodily remains 30 resulting from an abortion. 31 Additionally, under the bill, a person is prohibited from 32 using a fetus or the bodily remains resulting from an abortion 33 in animal or human research, experimentation, or study, or for 34 transplantation, unless an exception is met. The exceptions 35 -3- LSB 1121YH (4) 87 pf/nh 3/ 4

H.F. 144 include for diagnostic or remedial tests, procedures, or 1 observations which have the purpose of determining the life or 2 health of the fetus, or preserving the life or health of the 3 fetus or pregnant woman; or for pathological study. 4 The bill provides, in addition to other remedies available, 5 civil relief in the form of monetary and statutory damages, 6 professional disciplinary action against a physician, 7 and criminal penalties for the unlawful disposition of or 8 experimentation upon a fetus or bodily remains. The bill 9 provides that a person who violates the bill’s provision is 10 guilty of a class “C” felony for each violation. A class “C” 11 felony is punishable by confinement for no more than 10 years 12 and a fine of at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000. 13 The bill defines the terms “abortion”, “bodily remains”, 14 “experiment” or “experimentation”, “fetal death”, “medical 15 waste”, “pathological study”, and “therapeutic” for the 16 purposes of the bill. 17 The bill provides that nothing in the bill shall be construed 18 to affect existing federal or state law regarding abortion, as 19 creating or recognizing a right to an abortion, or to alter 20 generally accepted medical standards. 21 The provisions of the bill are severable and the bill also 22 provides for the right of intervention by members of the 23 general assembly who sponsored or cosponsored the bill in their 24 official capacity, appointed by joint resolution, to intervene 25 as a matter of right in any case in which the constitutionality 26 of the bill is challenged. 27 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 28 -4- LSB 1121YH (4) 87 pf/nh 4/ 4