REPORT TITLE:
Abortion; Minors; Consent


DESCRIPTION:
Requires parental consent for a minor to obtain an abortion
except under certain circumstances.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2697
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT
RELATING TO PARENTAL CONSENT FOR ABORTIONS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to require unmarried
 
 2 or unemancipated pregnant minors to seek the advice and counsel
 
 3 of a parent when faced with the difficult decision of whether or
 
 4 not to bear a child.
 
 5      SECTION 2.  Chapter 577A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated
 
 7 and to read as follows:
 
 8      "§577A-A  Parental consent required; minors, abortions.  (a)
 
 9 No abortion shall be performed upon an unmarried or unemancipated
 
10 minor without first obtaining the written consent of one of the
 
11 minor's parents.  This consent shall be provided on a form
 
12 prescribed by the department of health and at a minimum shall
 
13 contain the name of the minor, notification that the minor is
 
14 pregnant and wishes to obtain an abortion, the signature of the
 
15 parent authorizing the abortion, and a witness signature from the
 
16 attending physician or the physician's authorized representative.
 
17      (b)  If a parent is not available or refuses to give consent
 
18 for an abortion, or if the minor elects not to seek consent of a
 
19 parent, the minor may petition the family court for a waiver of
 
20 the parental consent requirement of this section.
 

 
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 1      (c)  No consent shall be required under this section if:
 
 2      (1)  The attending physician certifies in the minor's
 
 3           medical record that the abortion is necessary to
 
 4           prevent the minor's death and there is insufficient
 
 5           time to obtain the required consent; or
 
 6      (2)  The pregnant minor declares that she is a victim of
 
 7           sexual assault, harm, or child abuse or neglect as
 
 8           defined in sections 350-1 and 587-2, and chapter 707,
 
 9           parts V and VI, and the attending physician has
 
10           notified the department of human services or the police
 
11           department about the alleged sexual abuse, neglect, or
 
12           child abuse.
 
13 Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, a minor may not
 
14 give consent, authorization, or otherwise permit an abortion to
 
15 be conducted on the minor other than as provided in this
 
16 subsection.
 
17      (d)  For purposes of this section, "minor" means any person
 
18 below the age of eighteen.
 
19      (e)  For purposes of this section, "parent" means a
 
20 biological, foster, or adoptive parent, or legal guardian.
 
21      (f)  For purposes of this section, "abortion" means the use
 
22 of any means, including but not limited to, operation or medical
 
23 procedure, to terminate pregnancy.
 

 
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 1      (g)  Any individual who knowingly, intentionally, or
 
 2 recklessly performs an abortion in violation of this section
 
 3 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
 
 4      §577A-B  Reporting requirements.  (a)  Within ninety days
 
 5 after the effective date of this Act, the department of health
 
 6 shall prepare a reporting form for physicians to list:
 
 7      (1)  The number of minors for whom the physician or an agent
 
 8           of the physician received written consent from one
 
 9           parent pursuant to section 577A-A;
 
10      (2)  The number of minors upon whom the physician performed
 
11           an abortion without obtaining the written consent of a
 
12           parent as described in section 577A-A, and of that
 
13           number:
 
14           (A)  The number who were emancipated minors;
 
15           (B)  The number who were married;
 
16           (C)  The number for whom the attending physician
 
17                certifies in the minor's medical record that the
 
18                abortion is necessary to prevent the minor's death
 
19                and there is insufficient time to obtain the
 
20                required consent; and
 
21           (D)  The number who, through petitioning the family
 
22                court, received a waiver of the parental consent
 
23                requirement.
 

 
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 1      (b)  The department of health shall ensure that copies of
 
 2 the form described are distributed or made available within one
 
 3 hundred twenty days after the effective date of this Act to all
 
 4 physicians licensed to practice in this State.
 
 5      (c)  By February 28 of each year, each physician who
 
 6 obtained, or whose agent obtained, the consent described in
 
 7 section 577A-A and any physician who knowingly performed an
 
 8 abortion upon a minor female the previous calendar year shall
 
 9 submit to the department of health a copy of the form described
 
10 in subsection (a) with the requested data entered accurately and
 
11 completely.
 
12      (d)  For reports that are not submitted by the due date the
 
13 physician shall be subject to a late fee of $500 for each
 
14 thirty-day period or portion of a thirty-day period they are
 
15 overdue.  Any physician required to report in accordance with
 
16 this section who has not submitted a report, or has submitted
 
17 only an incomplete report, more than one year following the due
 
18 date, in an action brought by the department of health, may be
 
19 directed by a court of competent jurisdiction to submit a
 
20 complete report within a period stated by court order or be
 
21 subject to sanctions for civil contempt.
 
22      (e)  By June 30 of each year, the department of health shall
 
23 issue a public report providing statistics for the previous
 

 
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 1 calendar year compiled from all of the reports covering that year
 
 2 submitted in accordance with this section."
 
 3      SECTION 3.  If any provision of this Act, or the application
 
 4 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
 
 5 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
 
 6 the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
 
 7 or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are
 
 8 severable.
 
 9      SECTION 4.  In codifying the new sections added to chapter
 
10 577A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by section 2 of this Act, the
 
11 revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers
 
12 for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.
 
13      SECTION 5.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
14      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
15 
 
16                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________