Florida Senate - 2015                              CS for SB 724
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Fiscal Policy; and Senators Flores and Gaetz
       
       
       
       
       
       594-04445-15                                           2015724c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to termination of pregnancies;
    3         amending s. 390.0111, F.S.; revising conditions for
    4         the voluntary and informed consent to a termination of
    5         pregnancy; providing an exception; reenacting s.
    6         390.012(3)(d), F.S., relating to Agency for Health
    7         Care Administration rules regarding medical screening
    8         and evaluation of abortion clinic patients, to
    9         incorporate the amendment made by this act to s.
   10         390.0111, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an
   11         effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
   16  390.0111, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   17         390.0111 Termination of pregnancies.—
   18         (3) CONSENTS REQUIRED.—A termination of pregnancy may not
   19  be performed or induced except with the voluntary and informed
   20  written consent of the pregnant woman or, in the case of a
   21  mental incompetent, the voluntary and informed written consent
   22  of her court-appointed guardian.
   23         (a) Except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to a
   24  termination of pregnancy is voluntary and informed only if:
   25         1. The physician who is to perform the procedure, or the
   26  referring physician, has, at a minimum, orally, while physically
   27  present in the same room, and at least 24 hours before the
   28  procedure in person, informed the woman of:
   29         a. The nature and risks of undergoing or not undergoing the
   30  proposed procedure that a reasonable patient would consider
   31  material to making a knowing and willful decision of whether to
   32  terminate a pregnancy.
   33         b. The probable gestational age of the fetus, verified by
   34  an ultrasound, at the time the termination of pregnancy is to be
   35  performed.
   36         (I) The ultrasound must be performed by the physician who
   37  is to perform the abortion or by a person having documented
   38  evidence that he or she has completed a course in the operation
   39  of ultrasound equipment as prescribed by rule and who is working
   40  in conjunction with the physician.
   41         (II) The person performing the ultrasound must offer the
   42  woman the opportunity to view the live ultrasound images and
   43  hear an explanation of them. If the woman accepts the
   44  opportunity to view the images and hear the explanation, a
   45  physician or a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse,
   46  advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant
   47  working in conjunction with the physician must contemporaneously
   48  review and explain the images to the woman before the woman
   49  gives informed consent to having an abortion procedure
   50  performed.
   51         (III) The woman has a right to decline to view and hear the
   52  explanation of the live ultrasound images after she is informed
   53  of her right and offered an opportunity to view the images and
   54  hear the explanation. If the woman declines, the woman shall
   55  complete a form acknowledging that she was offered an
   56  opportunity to view and hear the explanation of the images but
   57  that she declined that opportunity. The form must also indicate
   58  that the woman’s decision was not based on any undue influence
   59  from any person to discourage her from viewing the images or
   60  hearing the explanation and that she declined of her own free
   61  will.
   62         (IV) Unless requested by the woman, the person performing
   63  the ultrasound may not offer the opportunity to view the images
   64  and hear the explanation and the explanation may not be given
   65  if, at the time the woman schedules or arrives for her
   66  appointment to obtain an abortion, a copy of a restraining
   67  order, police report, medical record, or other court order or
   68  documentation is presented which provides evidence that the
   69  woman is obtaining the abortion because the woman is a victim of
   70  rape, incest, domestic violence, or human trafficking or that
   71  the woman has been diagnosed as having a condition that, on the
   72  basis of a physician’s good faith clinical judgment, would
   73  create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment
   74  of a major bodily function if the woman delayed terminating her
   75  pregnancy.
   76         c. The medical risks to the woman and fetus of carrying the
   77  pregnancy to term.
   78  
   79  The physician may provide the information required in this
   80  subparagraph within 24 hours prior to the procedure, if
   81  requested by the woman at the time she schedules or arrives for
   82  her appointment to obtain an abortion and she presents to the
   83  physician a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical
   84  record, or other court order or documentation evidencing that
   85  she is obtaining the abortion because she is a victim of rape,
   86  incest, domestic violence, or human trafficking.
   87         2. Printed materials prepared and provided by the
   88  department have been provided to the pregnant woman, if she
   89  chooses to view these materials, including:
   90         a. A description of the fetus, including a description of
   91  the various stages of development.
   92         b. A list of entities that offer alternatives to
   93  terminating the pregnancy.
   94         c. Detailed information on the availability of medical
   95  assistance benefits for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal
   96  care.
   97         3. The woman acknowledges in writing, before the
   98  termination of pregnancy, that the information required to be
   99  provided under this subsection has been provided.
  100  
  101  Nothing in this paragraph is intended to prohibit a physician
  102  from providing any additional information which the physician
  103  deems material to the woman’s informed decision to terminate her
  104  pregnancy.
  105         Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  106  made by this act to section 390.0111, Florida Statutes, in a
  107  reference thereto, paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
  108  390.012, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  109         390.012 Powers of agency; rules; disposal of fetal
  110  remains.—
  111         (3) For clinics that perform or claim to perform abortions
  112  after the first trimester of pregnancy, the agency shall adopt
  113  rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the
  114  provisions of this chapter, including the following:
  115         (d) Rules relating to the medical screening and evaluation
  116  of each abortion clinic patient. At a minimum, these rules shall
  117  require:
  118         1. A medical history including reported allergies to
  119  medications, antiseptic solutions, or latex; past surgeries; and
  120  an obstetric and gynecological history.
  121         2. A physical examination, including a bimanual examination
  122  estimating uterine size and palpation of the adnexa.
  123         3. The appropriate laboratory tests, including:
  124         a. Urine or blood tests for pregnancy performed before the
  125  abortion procedure.
  126         b. A test for anemia.
  127         c. Rh typing, unless reliable written documentation of
  128  blood type is available.
  129         d. Other tests as indicated from the physical examination.
  130         4. An ultrasound evaluation for all patients. The rules
  131  shall require that if a person who is not a physician performs
  132  an ultrasound examination, that person shall have documented
  133  evidence that he or she has completed a course in the operation
  134  of ultrasound equipment as prescribed in rule. The rules shall
  135  require clinics to be in compliance with s. 390.0111.
  136         5. That the physician is responsible for estimating the
  137  gestational age of the fetus based on the ultrasound examination
  138  and obstetric standards in keeping with established standards of
  139  care regarding the estimation of fetal age as defined in rule
  140  and shall write the estimate in the patient’s medical history.
  141  The physician shall keep original prints of each ultrasound
  142  examination of a patient in the patient’s medical history file.
  143         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.