HF 2751

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; requiring information provided 
  1.3             through the Woman's Right to Know Act to be medically 
  1.4             and factually accurate; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             2003 Supplement, sections 145.4241, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision; 145.4242; 145.4243. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.9   145.4241, is amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 5a.  [MEDICALLY AND FACTUALLY ACCURATE.] "Medically 
  1.11  and factually accurate" means verified or supported by the 
  1.12  weight of research conducted in compliance with accepted 
  1.13  scientific methods and: 
  1.14     (1) published in peer-reviewed journals where applicable; 
  1.15  or 
  1.16     (2) comprising information that leading professional 
  1.17  organizations and agencies with relevant expertise in the field, 
  1.18  such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 
  1.19  the American Public Health Association, and the National Cancer 
  1.20  Institute, recognize as accurate and objective. 
  1.21     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.22  145.4242, is amended to read: 
  1.23     145.4242 [INFORMED CONSENT.] 
  1.24     No abortion shall be performed in this state except with 
  1.25  the voluntary and informed consent of the female upon whom the 
  1.26  abortion is to be performed.  Except in the case of a medical 
  2.1   emergency, consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed only 
  2.2   if: 
  2.3      (1) the female is told the following, by telephone or in 
  2.4   person, by the physician who is to perform the abortion or by a 
  2.5   referring physician, at least 24 hours before the abortion: 
  2.6      (i) the particular medical risks associated with the 
  2.7   particular abortion procedure to be employed including, when 
  2.8   medically accurate, the risks of infection, hemorrhage, breast 
  2.9   cancer, danger to subsequent pregnancies, and 
  2.10  infertility medically and factually accurate and objective 
  2.11  information about the particular medical risks associated with 
  2.12  the particular abortion procedure employed, as relevant to the 
  2.13  woman's medical condition; 
  2.14     (ii) the probable gestational age of the unborn child at 
  2.15  the time the abortion is to be performed; and 
  2.16     (iii) the medical risks associated with carrying her child 
  2.17  to term. 
  2.18     The information required by this clause may be provided by 
  2.19  telephone without conducting a physical examination or tests of 
  2.20  the patient, in which case the information required to be 
  2.21  provided may be based on facts supplied to the physician by the 
  2.22  female and whatever other relevant information is reasonably 
  2.23  available to the physician.  It may not be provided by a tape 
  2.24  recording, but must be provided during a consultation in which 
  2.25  the physician is able to ask questions of the female and the 
  2.26  female is able to ask questions of the physician.  If a physical 
  2.27  examination, tests, or the availability of other information to 
  2.28  the physician subsequently indicate, in the medical judgment of 
  2.29  the physician, a revision of the information previously supplied 
  2.30  to the patient, that revised information may be communicated to 
  2.31  the patient at any time prior to the performance of the 
  2.32  abortion.  Nothing in this section may be construed to preclude 
  2.33  provision of required information in a language understood by 
  2.34  the patient through a translator; 
  2.35     (2) the female is informed, by telephone or in person, by 
  2.36  the physician who is to perform the abortion, by a referring 
  3.1   physician, or by an agent of either physician at least 24 hours 
  3.2   before the abortion: 
  3.3      (i) that medical assistance benefits may be available for 
  3.4   prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care; 
  3.5      (ii) that the father is liable to assist in the support of 
  3.6   her child, even in instances when the father has offered to pay 
  3.7   for the abortion; and 
  3.8      (iii) that she has the right to review the printed 
  3.9   materials described in section 145.4243, that these materials 
  3.10  are available on a state-sponsored Web site, and what the Web 
  3.11  site address is.  The physician or the physician's agent shall 
  3.12  orally inform the female that the materials have been provided 
  3.13  by the state of Minnesota and that they describe the unborn 
  3.14  child, list agencies that offer alternatives to abortion, and 
  3.15  contain information on fetal pain.  If the female chooses to 
  3.16  view the materials other than on the Web site, they shall either 
  3.17  be given to her at least 24 hours before the abortion or mailed 
  3.18  to her at least 72 hours before the abortion by certified mail, 
  3.19  restricted delivery to addressee, which means the postal 
  3.20  employee can only deliver the mail to the addressee.  
  3.21     The information required by this clause may be provided by 
  3.22  a tape recording if provision is made to record or otherwise 
  3.23  register specifically whether the female does or does not choose 
  3.24  to have the printed materials given or mailed to her; 
  3.25     (3) the female certifies in writing, prior to the abortion, 
  3.26  that the information described in clauses (1) and (2) has been 
  3.27  furnished to her and that she has been informed of her 
  3.28  opportunity to review the information referred to in clause (2), 
  3.29  subclause (iii); and 
  3.30     (4) prior to the performance of the abortion, the physician 
  3.31  who is to perform the abortion or the physician's agent obtains 
  3.32  a copy of the written certification prescribed by clause (3) and 
  3.33  retains it on file with the female's medical record for at least 
  3.34  three years following the date of receipt. 
  3.35     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  3.36  145.4243, is amended to read: 
  4.1      145.4243 [PRINTED INFORMATION.] 
  4.2      (a) Within 90 days after July 1, 2003, the commissioner of 
  4.3   health shall cause to be published, in English and in each 
  4.4   language that is the primary language of two percent or more of 
  4.5   the state's population, and shall cause to be available on the 
  4.6   state Web site provided for under section 145.4244 the following 
  4.7   printed materials in such a way as to ensure that the 
  4.8   information is easily comprehensible: 
  4.9      (1) geographically indexed materials designed to inform the 
  4.10  female of public and private agencies and services available to 
  4.11  assist a female through pregnancy, upon childbirth, and while 
  4.12  the child is dependent, including adoption agencies, which shall 
  4.13  include a comprehensive list of the agencies available, a 
  4.14  description of the services they offer, and a description of the 
  4.15  manner, including telephone numbers, in which they might be 
  4.16  contacted or, at the option of the commissioner of health, 
  4.17  printed materials including a toll-free, 24-hours-a-day 
  4.18  telephone number that may be called to obtain, orally or by a 
  4.19  tape recorded message tailored to a zip code entered by the 
  4.20  caller, such a list and description of agencies in the locality 
  4.21  of the caller and of the services they offer; 
  4.22     (2) medically and factually accurate and objective 
  4.23  materials designed to inform the female of the probable 
  4.24  anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child 
  4.25  at two-week gestational increments from the time when a female 
  4.26  can be known to be pregnant to full term, including any relevant 
  4.27  information on the possibility of the unborn child's survival 
  4.28  and pictures or drawings representing the development of unborn 
  4.29  children at two-week gestational increments, provided that any 
  4.30  such pictures or drawings must contain the dimensions of the 
  4.31  fetus and must be realistic and appropriate for the stage of 
  4.32  pregnancy depicted.  The materials shall be medically and 
  4.33  factually accurate and objective, nonjudgmental, and designed to 
  4.34  convey only accurate scientific information about the unborn 
  4.35  child at the various gestational ages.  The material shall also 
  4.36  contain medically and factually accurate and objective 
  5.1   information describing the methods of abortion procedures 
  5.2   commonly employed, the medical risks commonly associated with 
  5.3   each procedure, the possible detrimental psychological effects 
  5.4   of abortion, and the medical risks commonly associated with 
  5.5   carrying a child to term; and 
  5.6      (3) medically and factually accurate and objective 
  5.7   materials with the following information concerning an unborn 
  5.8   child of 20 weeks gestational age and at two weeks gestational 
  5.9   increments thereafter in such a way as to ensure that the 
  5.10  information is easily comprehensible: 
  5.11     (i) the development of the nervous system of the unborn 
  5.12  child; 
  5.13     (ii) fetal responsiveness to adverse stimuli and other 
  5.14  indications of capacity to experience organic pain; and 
  5.15     (iii) the impact on fetal organic pain of each of the 
  5.16  methods of abortion procedures commonly employed at this stage 
  5.17  of pregnancy. 
  5.18     The material under this clause shall be medically and 
  5.19  factually accurate and objective, nonjudgmental, and designed to 
  5.20  convey only accurate scientific information. 
  5.21     (b) The materials referred to in this section must be 
  5.22  printed in a typeface large enough to be clearly legible.  The 
  5.23  Web site provided for under section 145.4244 shall be maintained 
  5.24  at a minimum resolution of 70 DPI (dots per inch).  All pictures 
  5.25  appearing on the Web site shall be a minimum of 200x300 pixels.  
  5.26  All letters on the Web site shall be a minimum of 11-point 
  5.27  font.  All information and pictures shall be accessible with an 
  5.28  industry standard browser, requiring no additional plug-ins.  
  5.29  The materials required under this section must be available at 
  5.30  no cost from the commissioner of health upon request and in 
  5.31  appropriate number to any person, facility, or hospital.