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145.4235 POSITIVE ABORTION ALTERNATIVES.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
meanings given:
(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;
(2) "nondirective counseling" means providing clients with:
(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
(ii) nondirective, nonmarketing information regarding such providers; and
(3) "unborn child" means a member of the species Homo sapiens from fertilization until birth.
    Subd. 2. Eligibility for grants. (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:
(1) medical care;
(2) nutritional services;
(3) housing assistance;
(4) adoption services;
(5) education and employment assistance, including services that support the continuation
and completion of high school;
(6) child care assistance; and
(7) parenting education and support services.
An applicant may not provide or assist a woman to obtain adoption services from a provider of
adoption services that is not licensed.
(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.
(c) To be eligible for a grant, an agency or organization must:
(1) be a private, nonprofit organization;
(2) demonstrate that the program is conducted under appropriate supervision;
(3) not charge women for services provided under the program;
(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;
(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;
(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
(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.
(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.
(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:
(1) the same or a similar name;
(2) medical facilities or nonmedical facilities, including but not limited to, business offices,
treatment rooms, consultation rooms, examination rooms, and waiting rooms;
(3) expenses;
(4) employee wages or salaries; or
(5) equipment or supplies, including but not limited to, computers, telephone systems,
telecommunications equipment, and office supplies.
(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.
(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.
    Subd. 3. Privacy protection. (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.
(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.
    Subd. 4. Duties of commissioner. 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.
    Subd. 5. Severability. 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.
    Subd. 6. Supreme Court jurisdiction. The Minnesota Supreme Court has original
jurisdiction over an action challenging the constitutionality of this section and shall expedite
the resolution of the action.
History: 2005 c 124 s 2

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