2002 Minnesota Statutes

     145.925 Family planning grants. 

    Subdivision 1.    Eligible organizations; purpose.  The 
 commissioner of health may make special grants to cities, 
 counties, groups of cities or counties, or nonprofit 
 corporations to provide prepregnancy family planning services. 

    Subd. 1a.    Family planning services; defined.  "Family 
 planning services" means counseling by trained personnel 
 regarding family planning; distribution of information relating 
 to family planning, referral to licensed physicians or local 
 health agencies for consultation, examination, medical 
 treatment, genetic counseling, and prescriptions for the purpose 
 of family planning; and the distribution of family planning 
 products, such as charts, thermometers, drugs, medical 
 preparations, and contraceptive devices.  For purposes of 
 sections 145A.01 to 145A.14, family planning shall mean 
 voluntary action by individuals to prevent or aid conception but 
 does not include the performance, or make referrals for 
 encouragement of voluntary termination of pregnancy. 

    Subd. 2.    Prohibition.  The commissioner shall not 
 make special grants pursuant to this section to any nonprofit 
 corporation which performs abortions.  No state funds shall be 
 used under contract from a grantee to any nonprofit corporation 
 which performs abortions.  This provision shall not apply to 
 hospitals licensed pursuant to sections 144.50 to 144.56, or 
 health maintenance organizations certified pursuant to chapter 
 62D. 

    Subd. 3.    Minors.  No funds provided by grants made 
 pursuant to this section shall be used to support any family 
 planning services for any unemancipated minor in any elementary 
 or secondary school building. 

    Subd. 4.    Parental notification.  Except as provided 
 in sections 144.341 and 144.342, any person employed to provide 
 family planning services who is paid in whole or in part from 
 funds provided under this section who advises an abortion or 
 sterilization to any unemancipated minor shall, following such a 
 recommendation, so notify the parent or guardian of the reasons 
 for such an action. 

    Subd. 5.    Rules.  The commissioner of health shall 
 promulgate rules for approval of plans and budgets of 
 prospective grant recipients, for the submission of annual 
 financial and statistical reports, and the maintenance of 
 statements of source and application of funds by grant 
 recipients.  The commissioner of health may not require that any 
 home rule charter or statutory city or county apply for or 
 receive grants under this subdivision as a condition for the 
 receipt of any state or federal funds unrelated to family 
 planning services. 

    Subd. 6.    Public services; individual and employee 
 rights.  The request of any person for family planning 
 services or the refusal to accept any service shall in no way 
 affect the right of the person to receive public assistance, 
 public health services, or any other public service.  Nothing in 
 this section shall abridge the right of the individual to make 
 decisions concerning family planning, nor shall any individual 
 be required to state a reason for refusing any offer of family 
 planning services. 

    Any employee of the agencies engaged in the administration 
 of the provisions of this section may refuse to accept the duty 
 of offering family planning services to the extent that the duty 
 is contrary to personal beliefs.  A refusal shall not be grounds 
 for dismissal, suspension, demotion, or any other discrimination 
 in employment.  The directors or supervisors of the agencies 
 shall reassign the duties of employees in order to carry out the 
 provisions of this section. 

    All information gathered by any agency, entity, or 
 individual conducting programs in family planning is private 
 data on individuals within the meaning of section 13.02, 
 subdivision 12. 

    Subd. 7.    Family planning services; information 
 required.  A grant recipient shall inform any person 
 requesting counseling on family planning methods or procedures 
 of: 

    (1) Any methods or procedures which may be followed, 
 including identification of any which are experimental or any 
 which may pose a health hazard to the person; 

    (2) A description of any attendant discomforts or risks 
 which might reasonably be expected; 

    (3) A fair explanation of the likely results, should a 
 method fail; 

    (4) A description of any benefits which might reasonably be 
 expected of any method; 

    (5) A disclosure of appropriate alternative methods or 
 procedures; 

    (6) An offer to answer any inquiries concerning methods of 
 procedures; and 

    (7) An instruction that the person is free either to 
 decline commencement of any method or procedure or to withdraw 
 consent to a method or procedure at any reasonable time. 

    Subd. 8.    Coercion; penalty.  Any person who receives 
 compensation for services under any program receiving financial 
 assistance under this section, who coerces or endeavors to 
 coerce any person to undergo an abortion or sterilization 
 procedure by threatening the person with the loss of or 
 disqualification for the receipt of any benefit or service under 
 a program receiving state or federal financial assistance shall 
 be guilty of a misdemeanor. 

    Subd. 9.    Amount of grant; rules.  Notwithstanding any 
 rules to the contrary, including rules proposed in the State 
 Register on April 1, 1991, the commissioner, in allocating grant 
 funds for family planning special projects, shall not limit the 
 total amount of funds that can be allocated to an organization.  
 The commissioner shall allocate to an organization receiving 
 grant funds on July 1, 1997, at least the same amount of grant 
 funds for the 1998 to 1999 grant cycle as the organization 
 received for the 1996 to 1997 grant cycle, provided the 
 organization submits an application that meets grant funding 
 criteria.  This subdivision does not affect any procedure 
 established in rule for allocating special project money to the 
 different regions.  The commissioner shall revise the rules for 
 family planning special project grants so that they conform to 
 the requirements of this subdivision.  In adopting these 
 revisions, the commissioner is not subject to the rulemaking 
 provisions of chapter 14, but is bound by section 14.386, 
 paragraph (a), clauses (1) and (3).  Section 14.386, paragraph 
 (b), does not apply to these rules. 

    HIST: 1976 c 9 s 2; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1978 c 775 s 1; 1981 c 
 311 s 39; 1981 c 356 s 176; 1982 c 545 s 24; 1983 c 289 s 115 
 subd 1; 1Sp1985 c 9 art 2 s 16; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 309 s 25; 
 1991 c 199 art 2 s 1; 1991 c 292 art 2 s 32; 1997 c 187 art 5 s 
 19; 1997 c 203 art 2 s 15