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2001 SESSION

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SB 1211 Abortion, informed written consent as a prerequisite; penalty.

Introduced by: J. Randy Forbes | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

Abortion, informed written consent as a prerequisite; penalty. Establishes certain conditions for obtaining informed written consent from a pregnant woman, of any age, prior to performing an abortion, including the requirement that each woman be given, at least 24 hours before the abortion, an explanation of the proposed procedures or protocols; an instruction that she may withdraw her consent at any time prior to the procedure; an offer to speak with the physician who is to perform the abortion; a statement of the probable gestational age of the fetus at the time the procedure is to be performed; and an offer to review printed materials that must be developed by the Department of Health. The printed materials to be developed by the Department of Health include information (i) indexed by geographical area on services available to assist a woman through pregnancy, childbirth and child rearing; (ii) depicting gestational development in two-week increments; and (iii) describing methods of abortion and the risks of abortion and full-term pregnancy. Informed written consent is not required in medical emergencies, which are defined as conditions which, on the basis of the physician’s good faith clinical judgment, so complicate the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or for which a delay will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. Additionally, the bill provides that jurisdiction lies in the general district courts for a violation of the informed consent provisions. This bill is identical to HB 2570 (McDonnell).


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