ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 597
(Senators Kessler, Prezioso, Boley and Green, original sponsors)
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[Passed March 13, 2010; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to repeal §16-2I-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, and to amend and reenact §16-2I-2, §16-2I-8 and §16-
2I-9 of said code, all relating to physician assisted
abortions; requiring prior notice to the patient of the
opportunity to view any ultrasound image utilized and in
conjunction with the abortion procedure; providing the
contents of a form to be provided to and signed by the female
undergoing the abortion relating to her right to view or not
view the ultrasound image; revising administrative remedies
for physicians and their agents that do not comply with the
provisions of the Woman's Right to Know Act; removing civil
liability and civil remedies associated with failure to comply
with the Woman's Right to Know Act; and providing for severability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-2I-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed, that §16-2I-2, §16-2I-8 and §16-2I-9 be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
§16-2I-2. Informed consent.
No abortion may be performed in this state except with the
voluntary and informed consent of the female upon whom the abortion
is to be performed. Except in the case of a medical emergency,
consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed if, and only if:
(a) The female is told the following, by telephone or in
person, by the physician or the licensed health care professional
to whom the responsibility has been delegated by the physician who
is to perform the abortion at least twenty-four hours before the
abortion:
(1) The particular medical risks associated with the
particular abortion procedure to be employed, including, when
medically accurate, the risks of infection, hemorrhage, danger to
subsequent pregnancies and infertility;
(2) The probable gestational age of the embryo or fetus at the
time the abortion is to be performed; and
(3) 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 by the female to the physician or other
licensed health care professional to whom the responsibility has
been delegated by the physician and whatever other relevant
information is reasonably available to the physician or other
licensed health care professional to whom the responsibility has
been delegated by the physician. It may not be provided by a tape
recording, but must be provided during a consultation in which the
physician or licensed health care professional to whom the
responsibility has been delegated by the physician is able to ask
questions of the female and the female is able to ask questions of
the physician or the licensed health care professional to whom the
responsibility has been delegated by the physician.
If a physical examination, tests or the availability of other
information to the physician or other licensed health care
professional to whom the responsibility has been delegated by the
physician subsequently indicate, in the medical judgment of the
physician or the licensed health care professional to whom the
responsibility has been delegated by the physician, a revision of
the information previously supplied to the patient, that revised
information may be communicated to the patient at any time
before the performance of the abortion procedure.
Nothing in this section may be construed to preclude provision
of required information in a language understood by the patient
through a translator.
(b) The female is informed, by telephone or in person, by the
physician who is to perform the abortion, or by an agent of the
physician, at least twenty-four hours before the abortion
procedure:
(1) That medical assistance benefits may be available for
prenatal care, childbirth and neonatal care through governmental or
private entities;
(2) That the father, if his identity can be determined, is
liable to assist in the support of her child based upon his ability
to pay even in instances in which the father has offered to pay for
the abortion;
(3) That she has the right to review the printed materials
described in section three of this article, that these materials
are available on a state-sponsored website and the website address;
and
(4) That the female will be presented with a form which she
will be required to execute prior to the abortion procedure that is
available pursuant to section three of this article, and that the
form to be presented will inform her of the opportunity to view the
ultrasound image and her right to view or decline to view the
ultrasound image
, if an ultrasound is performed.
The physician or an agent of the physician shall orally inform
the female that the materials have been provided by the State of
West Virginia and that they describe the embryo or fetus and list
agencies and entities which offer alternatives to abortion.
If the female chooses to view the materials other than on the
website, then they shall either be provided to her at least twenty-
four hours before the abortion or mailed to her at least seventy-
two hours before the abortion by first class mail in an unmarked
envelope.
The information required by this subsection may be provided by
a tape recording if provision is made to record or otherwise
register specifically whether the female does or does not choose to
have the printed materials given or mailed to her.
(c) The form required pursuant to subdivision (4), subsection
(b) of this section shall include the following information: (1) It
is a female's decision whether or not to undergo any ultrasound
imaging procedure in consultation with her health care provider;
(2) If an ultrasound is performed in conjunction with the
performance of an abortion procedure, the female has the right to
view or to decline to view the image; and (3) That the woman has
been previously informed of her opportunity to view the ultrasound
image and her right to view or decline to view the ultrasound
image. The woman shall certify her choice on this form prior to
the abortion procedure being performed.
The female shall certify in writing, before the abortion, that
the information described in subsections (a) and (b) of this
section has been provided to her and that she has been informed of
her opportunity to review the information referred to in
subdivision (3), subsection (b) of this section.
Before performing the abortion procedure, the physician who is
to perform the abortion or the physician's agent shall obtain a
copy of the executed certification required by the provisions of
subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
§16-2I-8. Administrative remedies.
Any physician or agent thereof who willfully violates the
provisions of this article may be subject to sanctions as levied by
the licensing board governing his or her profession.
§16-2I-9. Severability.
If any one or more provision, section, subsection, sentence,
clause, phrase or word of this article or the application thereof
to any person or circumstance is found to be unconstitutional, the
same is hereby declared to be severable and the balance of this
article shall remain effective notwithstanding such
unconstitutionality. The Legislature hereby declares that it would
have passed this article, and each provision, section, subsection,
sentence, clause, phrase or word thereof, irrespective of the fact
that any one or more provision, section, subsection, sentence,
clause, phrase or word be declared unconstitutional.