+HB2002 S H&HR AM #1
Johnson 7909
The Committee on Health and Human Resources moved to amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
ARTICLE 2F. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION OF ABORTIONS PERFORMED ON UNEMANCIPATED MINORS.
§16-2F-1. Legislative findings and intent.
(a) The Legislature finds that immature minors often lack the
ability to make fully informed choices that take into account both immediate
and long-range consequences of their actions; that the medical, emotional and
psychological consequences of abortion are serious and of indeterminate
duration, particularly when the patient is immature; that in its current
abortion policy as expressed in Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U. S. 622 (1979),
and H. L. v. Matheson, 450 U. S. 398 (1981), and Hodgson v.
Minnesota, 497 U.S. 417, (1990), the United States Supreme Court clearly
relies on physician's commitment to consider all factors, physical and
otherwise, before performing abortions on minors held that notification
of a parent with a judicial waiver procedure is Constitutional; that
parents ordinarily possess information essential to a physician's exercise of
his or her best medical judgment concerning their child; and that
parents who are aware that their minor daughter has had an abortion may better
ensure that the minor receives adequate medical attention after her abortion.
(b) The Legislature further finds that parental consultation regarding abortion is usually desirable and in the best interests of the minor.
(c) The Legislature further finds in accordance with the U. S.
Supreme Court's decision in Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U. S. 622 (1979), and H. L.
v. Matheson, 450 U. S. 398 (1981), that there exists important and
compelling state interests:
(i) (1) in protecting minors against their own immaturity,
(ii) (2) in fostering the family structure and preserving it as
a viable social unit, and
(iii) (3) in protecting the rights of parents to rear their own
children in their own household.
(d) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to further these important and compelling state interests by enacting this parental notice provision.
§16-2F-2. Definitions.
For purposes of this article, unless the context in which used clearly requires otherwise:
(1) "Minor" means any person under the age of eighteen
years who has not graduated from high school.
(2) "Unemancipated minor" means any minor who is neither
married nor who has been emancipated as pursuant to applicable federal law or
as provided by section twenty-seven, article seven, chapter forty-nine of this
code.
(3) "Actual notice" means the giving of notice directly,
in person or by telephone.
(4) "Constructive notice" means the giving of notice by
certified mail to the last known address of the parents or legal guardian,
return receipt requested.
(5) "Abortion" means the use of any instrument,
medicine, drug or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the
pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant and with intent to cause the
expulsion of a fetus other than by live birth: Provided, That nothing in this
article shall be construed so as to prevent the prescription, sale or transfer
of intrauterine contraceptive devices or other contraceptive devices or other
generally medically accepted contraceptive devices, instruments, medicines or
drugs for a female who is not known to be pregnant and for whom such
contraceptive devices, instruments, medicines or drugs were prescribed by a
physician solely for contraceptive purposes and not for the purpose of inducing
or causing the termination of a known pregnancy.
As used in this article:
(1) "Abortion" means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant and with intent to cause the expulsion of a fetus other than by live birth. This article does not prevent the prescription, sale or transfer of intrauterine contraceptive devices, other contraceptive devices or other generally medically accepted contraceptive devices, instruments, medicines or drugs for a female who is not known to be pregnant and for whom the contraceptive devices, instruments, medicines or drugs were prescribed by a physician solely for contraceptive purposes and not for the purpose of inducing or causing the termination of a known pregnancy.
(2) “Medical emergency” means the same as that term is defined in section two, article two-m of this chapter.
(3) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
(4) “Unemancipated minor” means any person less than eighteen years of age who is not, or has not been, married, who is under the care, custody and control of the person’s parent or parents, guardian or court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to applicable federal law or as provided in section twenty-seven, article seven, chapter forty-nine of this code.
§16-2F-3. Parental notification required for abortions performed on unemancipated minors.
(a) No physician may perform an abortion upon an unemancipated
minor unless such physician has given or caused to be given at least
twenty-four hours actual notice to one of the parents or to the legal guardian
of the pregnant minor of his intention to perform the abortion, or, if the
parent or guardian cannot be found and notified after a reasonable effort to do
so, without first having given at least forty- eight hours constructive notice
computed from the time of mailing to the parent or to the legal guardian of the
minor: Provided, That prior to giving the notification required by this
section, the physician shall advise the unemancipated minor of the right of
petition to the circuit court for waiver of notification: Provided, however,
That any such notification may be waived by a duly acknowledged writing signed
by a parent or the guardian of the minor.
(b) Upon notification being given to any parent or to the legal
guardian of such pregnant minor, the physician shall refer such pregnant minor
to a counselor or caseworker of any church or school or of the department of
human services or of any other comparable agency for the purpose of arranging
or accompanying such pregnant minor in consultation with her parents. Such
counselor shall thereafter be authorized to monitor the circumstances and the
continued relationship of and between such minor and her parents.
(c) Parental notification required by subsection (a) of this
section may be waived by a physician, other than the physician who is to perform
the abortion, if such other physician finds that the minor is mature enough to
make the abortion decision independently or that notification would not be in
the minor's best interest. Provided, That such The other physician shall
not be associated professionally or financially with the physician proposing to
perform the abortion.
(a) A physician may not perform an abortion upon an unemancipated minor until notice of the pending abortion as required by this section is complete.
(b) A physician or his or her agent may personally give notice directly, in person, by telephone or by letter to the parent, the guardian or conservator of the unemancipated minor at their usual place of residence and shall be delivered personally by the physician or his or her agent. Upon delivery of the notice, forty-eight hours shall pass until the abortion may be performed.
(c) A physician or his or her agent may provide notice by certified mail addressed to the parent, the guardian or conservator of the unemancipated minor at their usual place of residence, return receipt requested. The delivery shall be sent restricted delivery assuring that the letter is delivered only to the addressee. Time of delivery shall be deemed to occur at twelve o’clock noon on the next day on which regular mail delivery takes place unless. Upon delivery of the notice, forty-eight hours shall pass until the abortion may be performed.
(d) Notice may be waived if the person entitled to notice certifies in writing that he or she has been notified.
§16-2F-4. Process to obtain waiver of notification.
(a) A minor An unemancipated minor who objects to such
the notice being given to her parent or legal guardian may petition for
a waiver of such the notice to the circuit court of the county in
which the minor unemancipated minor resides or in which the
abortion is to be performed, or to the judge of either of such courts. Such
minor may so petition and proceed in her own right or, at her option, by a next
friend.
(b) Such The petition need not be made in any
specific form and shall be sufficient if it fairly sets forth the facts and
circumstances of the matter, but shall contain the following information:
(i) The age of the petitioner unemancipated minor and
her educational level;
(ii) The county and state in which she resides; and
(iii) A brief statement of petitioner's unemancipated
minor’s reason or reasons for the desired waiver of notification of the
parent or guardian of such minor petitioner unemancipated minor.
No such petition shall be dismissed nor shall any hearing thereon be refused because of any defect in the form of the petition.
(c) Upon the effective date of this article or as soon
thereafter as may be, The Attorney General shall prepare suggested form
petitions and accompanying instructions and shall make the same available to
the several clerks of the circuit courts. Such The clerks
shall see that a sufficient number of such suggested make the
form petitions and instructions are available in the clerks office. for
the use of any person desiring to use the same for the purposes of this
section.
(d) All The proceedings held pursuant to this
article shall be confidential and the court shall conduct all such the
proceedings in camera. The court shall inform the minor petitioner unemancipated
minor of her right to be represented by counsel. and that If she
the unemancipated minor is without the requisite funds to retain the
services of an attorney, that the court will appoint an attorney to
represent her the unemancipated minor’s interest in the matter.
If the minor petitioner unemancipated minor desires the services
of an attorney, an attorney shall be appointed to represent such the
minor petitioner unemancipated minor, if she the unemancipated
minor advises the court under oath or affidavit that she the unemancipated
minor is financially unable to retain counsel. Any An
attorney appointed to represent such the minor petitioner
unemancipated minor shall be appointed and paid for his or her
services pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-one, chapter twenty-nine
of this code. Provided, That The pay to any such
attorney pursuant to such appointment shall not exceed the sum of $100.
(e) The court shall conduct a hearing upon the petition without
delay, but in no event shall the delay may not exceed the next
succeeding judicial day. and The court shall render its decision
immediately upon its submission and, in any event, an order reflecting the
findings of fact and conclusions of law reached by the court and its judgement
shall be endorsed by the judge thereof its written order not later
than twenty-four hours following such submission and shall be
forthwith entered of in the record by the clerk of the court.
All testimony, documents, and other evidence, presented to the court,
as well as the petition, and any orders entered thereon and all
records of whatsoever nature and kind relating to the matter shall be
sealed by the clerk and shall not be opened to any person except upon order of
the court and, then, only upon a showing of good cause. being
shown therefor. A separate order book for the purposes of this article
shall be maintained by such the clerk and shall likewise
be sealed and not open to inspection by any person save upon order of the court
for good cause shown.
(f) Notice as required by section three of this article shall be ordered waived by the court if the court finds either:
(1) That the minor petitioner unemaciated minor is
mature and well informed sufficiently to make the decision to proceed with the
abortion independently and without the notification or involvement of her
parent or legal guardian; or
(2) That notification to the person or persons to whom such
the notification would otherwise be required would not be in the best
interest of the minor petitioner unemancipated minor.
(g) If or when the circuit court, or the judge thereof, shall
refuse to order the waiver of the notification required by section three of
this article, a copy of the petition and all orders entered in the matter and
all other documents and papers submitted to the circuit court, may be presented
to the Supreme Court of Appeals, or to any justice thereof if such court then
be in vacation, and such court or justice if deemed proper, may thereupon order
the waiver of notification otherwise required by section three of this article.
The Supreme Court of Appeals or justice thereof shall hear and decide the
matter without delay and shall enter such orders as such court or justice may
deem appropriate.
(h) If either the circuit court or the Supreme Court of Appeals,
or any judge or justice thereof if either of such courts be then in vacation,
shall order a waiver of the notification required by section three of this
article, any physician to whom a certified copy of said order shall be
presented may proceed to perform the abortion to the same extent as if such
physician were in compliance with the provisions of said section three and,
notwithstanding the fact that no notification is given to either the parent or
legal guardian of any such unemancipated minor, any such physician shall not be
subject to the penalty provisions which may be prescribed by this article for
such failure of notification.
(g) A confidential appeal shall be available to any unemancipated minor to whom a court denies an order authorizing an abortion without notification. An order authorizing an abortion without notification may not be appealed. Access to the trial court and the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be given to an unemancipated minor.
(i) (h) No Filing fees may be are not
required of any unemancipated minor who avails herself of any of the
procedures provided by this section.
§16-2F-5. Emergency exception from notification requirements.
(a) The notification requirements of section three of this article do
not apply where the attending physician certifies that there is an
emergency a need for an abortion to be performed if the
continuation of the pregnancy constitutes an immediate threat and grave risk to
the life or health of the pregnant minor and the attending physician so
certifies in writing setting forth the nature of such threat or risk and the
consequences which may be attendant to the continuation of the pregnancy due
to a medical emergency. Such writing A description of the medical
emergency shall be maintained with the other unemancipated
minor’s medical records. relating to such minor which are maintained. by
the physician and the facility at which such abortion is performed.
(b) If the physician who is to perform the abortion concludes under subsection (a) of this section that a medical emergency exists and that there is insufficient time to provide the notice required by section three of this article, the physician shall make a reasonable effort to inform, in person or by telephone, the parent, managing conservator, or guardian of the unemancipated minor within 24 hours after the time a medical emergency abortion is performed on the minor of:
(1) The performance of the abortion; and
(2) The basis for the physician's determination that a medical emergency existed that required the performance of a medical emergency abortion without fulfilling the requirements of section three.
(c) A physician who performs an abortion under the circumstances described in subsection (a) of this section shall, not later than 48 hours after the abortion is performed, send a written notice that a medical emergency occurred and that the parent, managing conservator, or guardian may contact the physician for more information and medical records, to the last known address of the parent, managing conservator, or guardian by certified mail, restricted delivery, return receipt requested. The physician may rely on last known address information if a reasonable and prudent person, under similar circumstances, would rely on the information as sufficient evidence that the parent, managing conservator, or guardian resides at that address. The physician shall keep in the minor's medical record:
(1) The return receipt from the written notice; or
(2) If the notice was returned as undeliverable, the notice.
(d) A physician who performs an abortion on an unemancipated minor during a medical emergency as described in subsection (a) of this section shall execute for inclusion in the medical record of the minor an affidavit that explains the specific medical emergency that necessitated the immediate abortion.
§16-2F-6. Reporting requirements for physicians.
(a) Any A physician performing an abortion upon an
unemancipated minor shall provide the department of health secretary
a written report of the procedure within thirty days after having performed the
abortion. The department of health shall provide reporting forms for this
purpose to all physicians and public health facilities required to be licensed
pursuant to article five-b of this chapter. The following information, in
addition to any other information which may be required by the department of
health secretary, regarding the minor an unemancipated
minor receiving the abortion shall be included in such the
reporting form:
(1) Age;
(2) Educational level;
(3) Previous pregnancies;
(4) Previous live births;
(5) Previous abortions;
(6) Complications, if any, of the abortion being reported;
(7) Reason for waiver of notification, of the minor's parent or
guardian, if such notice was waived; and
(8) The city and county in which the abortion was performed.
(b) Any such The report shall not contain the name,
address or other information by which the minor unemancipated minor receiving
the abortion may be identified.
§16-2F-8. Penalties.
Any person who knowingly performs an abortion upon an
unemancipated minor in violation of this article or who knowingly fails to
conform to any requirement of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than
$1,000 or imprisoned in the county jail not more than thirty days, or both
fined and imprisoned.
(a) Any physician or other licensed medical practitioner who intentionally or recklessly performs or induces an abortion in violation of this article is considered to have acted outside the scope of practice permitted by law or otherwise in breach of the standard of care owed to patients, and is subject to discipline from the applicable licensure board for that conduct, including, but not limited to, loss of professional license to practice.
(b) A person, not subject to subsection (a) of this section, who intentionally or recklessly performs or induces an abortion in violation of this article is considered to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of medicine in violation of section thirteen, article three, chapter thirty of this code, and upon conviction, subject to the penalties contained in that section.
(c) In addition to the penalties set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, a patient may seek any remedy otherwise available to such patient by applicable law.
(d) No penalty may be assessed against any patient upon whom an abortion is performed or induced or attempted to be performed or induced.
Adopted
Rejected