SF 917

5th Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to health; providing for grants related to
positive abortion alternatives; appropriating money;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 145.

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

Section 1. new text begin SHORT TITLE.
new text end

new text begin This act may be cited as the "Positive Alternatives Act."
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [145.4235] POSITIVE ABORTION ALTERNATIVES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin For purposes of this
section, the following terms have the meanings given:
new text end

new text begin (1) "abortion" means the use of any means to terminate the
pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with knowledge that
the termination with those means will, with reasonable
likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child. For purposes
of this section, abortion does not include an abortion necessary
to prevent the death of the mother;
new text end

new text begin (2) "nondirective counseling" means providing clients with:
new text end

new text begin (i) a list of health care providers and social service
providers that provide prenatal care, childbirth care, infant
care, foster care, adoption services, alternatives to abortion,
or abortion services; and
new text end

new text begin (ii) nondirective, nonmarketing information regarding such
providers; and
new text end

new text begin (3) "unborn child" means a member of the species Homo
sapiens from fertilization until birth.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Eligibility for grants. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner
shall award grants to eligible applicants under paragraph (c)
for the reasonable expenses of alternatives to abortion programs
to support, encourage, and assist women in carrying their
pregnancies to term and caring for their babies after birth by
providing information on, referral to, and assistance with
securing necessary services that enable women to carry their
pregnancies to term and care for their babies after birth.
Necessary services must include, but are not limited to:
new text end

new text begin (1) medical care;
new text end

new text begin (2) nutritional services;
new text end

new text begin (3) housing assistance;
new text end

new text begin (4) adoption services;
new text end

new text begin (5) education and employment assistance, including services
that support the continuation and completion of high school;
new text end

new text begin (6) child care assistance; and
new text end

new text begin (7) parenting education and support services.
new text end

new text begin An applicant may not provide or assist a woman to obtain
adoption services from a provider of adoption services that is
not licensed.
new text end

new text begin (b) In addition to providing information and referral under
paragraph (a), an eligible program may provide one or more of
the necessary services under paragraph (a) that assists women in
carrying their pregnancies to term. To avoid duplication of
efforts, grantees may refer to other public or private programs,
rather than provide the care directly, if a woman meets
eligibility criteria for the other programs.
new text end

new text begin (c) To be eligible for a grant, an agency or organization
must:
new text end

new text begin (1) be a private, nonprofit organization;
new text end

new text begin (2) demonstrate that the program is conducted under
appropriate supervision;
new text end

new text begin (3) not charge women for services provided under the
program;
new text end

new text begin (4) provide each pregnant woman counseled with accurate
information on the developmental characteristics of babies and
of unborn children, including offering the printed information
described in section 145.4243;
new text end

new text begin (5) ensure that its alternatives-to-abortion program's
purpose is to assist and encourage women in carrying their
pregnancies to term and to maximize their potentials thereafter;
new text end

new text begin (6) ensure that none of the money provided is used to
encourage or affirmatively counsel a woman to have an abortion
not necessary to prevent her death, to provide her an abortion,
or to directly refer her to an abortion provider for an
abortion. The agency or organization may provide nondirective
counseling; and
new text end

new text begin (7) have had the alternatives to abortion program in
existence for at least one year as of July 1, 2005; or
incorporated an alternative to abortion program that has been in
existence for at least one year as of July 1, 2005.
new text end

new text begin (d) The provisions, words, phrases, and clauses of
paragraph (c) are inseverable from this subdivision, and if any
provision, word, phrase, or clause of paragraph (c) or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
invalidity applies to all of this subdivision.
new text end

new text begin (e) An organization that provides abortions, promotes
abortions, or directly refers to an abortion provider for an
abortion is ineligible to receive a grant under this program.
An affiliate of an organization that provides abortions,
promotes abortions, or directly refers to an abortion provider
for an abortion is ineligible to receive a grant under this
section unless the organizations are separately incorporated and
independent from each other. To be independent, the
organizations may not share any of the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) the same or a similar name;
new text end

new text begin (2) medical facilities or nonmedical facilities, including
but not limited to, business offices, treatment rooms,
consultation rooms, examination rooms, and waiting rooms;
new text end

new text begin (3) expenses;
new text end

new text begin (4) employee wages or salaries; or
new text end

new text begin (5) equipment or supplies, including but not limited to,
computers, telephone systems, telecommunications equipment, and
office supplies.
new text end

new text begin (f) An organization that receives a grant under this
section and that is affiliated with an organization that
provides abortion services must maintain financial records that
demonstrate strict compliance with this subdivision and that
demonstrate that its independent affiliate that provides
abortion services receives no direct or indirect economic or
marketing benefit from the grant under this section.
new text end

new text begin (g) The commissioner shall approve any information
provided by a grantee on the health risks associated with
abortions to ensure that the information is medically accurate.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Privacy protection. new text end

new text begin (a) Any program receiving a
grant under this section must have a privacy policy and
procedures in place to ensure that the name, address, telephone
number, or any other information that might identify any woman
seeking the services of the program is not made public or shared
with any other agency or organization without the written
consent of the woman. All communications between the program
and the woman must remain confidential. For purposes of any
medical care provided by the program, including, but not limited
to, pregnancy tests or ultrasonic scanning, the program must
adhere to the requirements in section 144.335 that apply to
providers before releasing any information relating to the
medical care provided.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the commissioner has
access to any information necessary to monitor and review a
grantee's program as required under subdivision 4.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Duties of commissioner. new text end

new text begin The commissioner shall
make grants under subdivision 2 beginning no later than July 1,
2006. In awarding grants, the commissioner shall consider the
program's demonstrated capacity in providing services to assist
a pregnant woman in carrying her pregnancy to term. The
commissioner shall monitor and review the programs of each
grantee to ensure that the grantee carefully adheres to the
purposes and requirements of subdivision 2 and shall cease
funding a grantee that fails to do so.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Severability. new text end

new text begin Except as provided in subdivision
2, paragraph (d), if any provision, word, phrase, or clause of
this section or its application to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the provisions,
words, phrases, clauses, or applications of this section that
can be given effect without the invalid provision, word, phrase,
clause, or application and to this end, the provisions, words,
phrases, and clauses of this section are severable.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Supreme court jurisdiction. new text end

new text begin The Minnesota
Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over an action
challenging the constitutionality of this section and shall
expedite the resolution of the action.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS; COMMUNITY HEALTH AND FAMILY
PROMOTION.
new text end

new text begin $2,500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of health for positive abortion alternatives under
new Minnesota Statutes, section 127A.145. Of this amount,
$50,000 is available for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006,
and $100,000 is available for the fiscal year ending June 30,
2007, for administrative costs of implementing the grant
program. The balance of the appropriation is available for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. The base funding for fiscal
years 2008 and 2009 is $2,500,000 per year.
new text end