Report Title:
Abortion; Informed Consent
Description:
Provides definition of informed consent for abortions and certification requirements.
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
580 |
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TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO INFORMED CONSENT FOR ABORTION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 453-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§453-16[]] Intentional termination of pregnancy; penalties; refusal to perform. (a) No abortion shall be performed in this State unless:
(1) [Such] The abortion is performed by a licensed physician or surgeon, or by a licensed osteopathic physician and surgeon; and
(2) [Such] The abortion is performed in a hospital licensed by the department of health or operated by the federal government or an agency thereof; [and]
(3) The woman upon whom such abortion is to be performed is domiciled in this State or has been physically present in this State for at least ninety days immediately preceding such abortion. The affidavit of such a woman shall be prima facie evidence of compliance with this requirement[.]; and
(4) The woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed provides voluntary and informed consent except in the case of medical emergency.
(b) Informed consent is voluntary and informed only if the woman is told the following, by telephone or in person, by the physician who is to perform the abortion or by a referring physician, at least twenty-four hours prior to the abortion:
(1) The name of the physician who will perform the abortion;
(2) The particular medical risks associated with the particular abortion procedure to be employed including, when medically accurate, the risks of infection, hemorrhage, breast cancer, danger to subsequent pregnancies, and infertility;
(3) The probable gestational age of the unborn child at the time the abortion is to be performed; and
(4) The medical risks associated with carrying her child to term.
The information required by this subsection may be provided by telephone without conducting a physical examination or tests of the patient, in which case the information required to be provided may be based on facts supplied the physician by the female and whatever other relevant information is reasonably available to the physician. This information must be provided during a consultation with the physician.
(c) The following information may be provided by an agent of the physician, by telephone or in person:
(1) That medical assistance benefits may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care;
(2) That the father is liable to assist in the support of her child, even in instances in which the father has offered to pay for the abortion; and
(3) Adoption agencies can provide placement services, which may include health care and other medical assistance benefits.
The information required by this subsection may be provided in a manner other than a personal consultation with the physician.
[(b)] (d) Abortion shall mean [an operation] a procedure to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a nonviable fetus. The termination of a pregnancy of a viable fetus is not included in this section.
(e) The woman shall certify in writing, prior to the abortion, that the information described in subsection (b) has been furnished her in accordance with the time requirement in that subsection.
Prior to the performance of the abortion, the physician who is to perform the abortion or the physician's agent shall receive a copy of the written certification required by the previous paragraph.
(f) As used in this section, "medical emergency" means any condition which, on the basis of the physician's good faith clinical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of the pregnant female as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or for which a delay will create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.
[(c)] (g) Any person who knowingly violates this section shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
[(d)] (h) Nothing in this section shall require any hospital or any person to participate in such abortion nor shall any hospital or any person be liable for such refusal."
SECTION 2. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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