Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB606%20INTR.htm&yr=2019&sesstype=RS&i=606
Timestamp: 2019-12-06 09:20:27
Document Index: 197944942

Matched Legal Cases: ['§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§30', '§30', '§16', '§16', '§29', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§29', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16', '§16']

By Senators Smith, Sypolt, Boso, Clements, Cline, Roberts, Tarr, Maroney, and Rucker
[Introduced February 14, 2019; Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-2P-1, §16-2P-2, §16-2P-3, §16-2P-4, §16-2P-5, §16-2P-6, §16-2P-7, §16-2P-8, §16-2P-9, §16-2P-10, and §16-2P-11, all relating to enacting the Fetal Heartbeat Act; prohibiting abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected; providing that the article applies only to intrauterine pregnancies; providing exceptions; making findings; providing for severability; establishing standards, requirements, and procedures; requiring documentation; requiring notice and acknowledgments; establishing criminal penalties; permitting civil actions; defining terms; and providing for rulemaking.
16-2P-1. Definitions; legislative intent; severability.
“Gestational age” means the age of an unborn human individual as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of a pregnant woman.
“Medical emergency” means a condition that in a physician's good faith medical judgment, based upon the facts known to the physician at that time, so endangers the life of the pregnant woman or poses a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman as to necessitate the immediate performance or inducement of an abortion.
“Physician” means an individual authorized pursuant to §30-3-1 et seq. of this code to practice medicine and surgery, or an individual authorized pursuant to §30-14-1 et seq. of this code to practice osteopathic medicine and surgery.
“Pregnancy” means the human female reproductive condition that begins with fertilization, when the woman is carrying the developing human offspring, and that is calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the woman.
“Serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” means any medically diagnosed condition that so complicates the pregnancy of the woman as to directly or indirectly cause the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.
“Spontaneous miscarriage” means the natural or accidental termination of a pregnancy and the expulsion of the fetus, typically caused by genetic defects in the fetus or physical abnormalities in the pregnant woman.
“Standard medical practice” means the degree of skill, care, and diligence that a physician of the same medical specialty would employ in like circumstances. As applied to the method used to determine the presence of a fetal heartbeat for purposes of this article, “standard medical practice” includes employing the appropriate means of detection depending on the estimated gestational age of the fetus and the condition of the woman and her pregnancy.
“Unborn human individual” means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth.
(b)(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that a court judgment or order suspending enforcement of any provision of this act is not to be regarded as tantamount to repeal of that provision.
(A) A declaration that any one or more sections specified in this article are constitutional.
(B) A judgment or order lifting an injunction against the enforcement of any one or more sections of this article.
(c) If the Attorney General fails to apply for the relief described in subdivision (2), subsection (b) of this section within the 30 day period after an event described in that section occurs, any county prosecutor may apply to the appropriate state or federal court for such relief.
(d) If any provision of this article is held invalid, or if the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity of that provision does not affect any other provision of this article and the other provisions of this article that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of those sections are severable. It is furthermore the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this article are not to have the effect of repealing or limiting any other laws of this state, except as specified by this article.
§16-2P-2. Legislative findings; applicability.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds, according to contemporary medical research, all of the following:
(b) This article applies only to intrauterine pregnancies.
§16-2P-3. Intrauterine pregnancies; persons intending to perform an abortion; detectable fetal heartbeat; rulemaking.
(a) A person who intends to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman shall determine whether there is a detectable fetal heartbeat of the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying. The method of determining the presence of a fetal heartbeat shall be consistent with the person's good faith understanding of standard medical practice, provided that if rules have been adopted under subsection (b) of this section, the method chosen shall be one that is consistent with the rules. The person who determines the presence or absence of a fetal heartbeat shall record in the pregnant woman’s medical record the estimated gestational age of the unborn human individual, the method used to test for a fetal heartbeat, the date and time of the test, and the results of the test.
(b) The State Director of Health shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to implement this section specifying the appropriate methods of performing an examination for the purpose of determining the presence of a fetal heartbeat of an unborn individual based on standard medical practice.
§16-2P-4. Detectable heartbeat; penalties; exceptions.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person shall knowingly and purposefully perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman before determining in accordance with §16-2P-3(a) of this code whether the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable heartbeat.
Whoever violates this subsection of performing or inducing an abortion before determining whether there is a detectable fetal heartbeat is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or confined in a state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than two years, or both fined and confined.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to a physician who performs or induces the abortion if the physician believes that a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance with that subsection.
(c) A physician who performs or induces an abortion on a pregnant woman based on the exception in subsection (b) of this section shall make written notations in the pregnant woman’s medical records of both of the following:
(1) The physician’s belief that a medical emergency necessitating the abortion existed; and
(2) The medical condition of the pregnant woman that assertedly prevented compliance with subsection (a) of this section.
(d) A person is not in violation of subsection (a) of this section if the person acts in accordance with §16-2P-3(a) of this code and the method used to determine the presence of a fetal heartbeat does not reveal a fetal heartbeat.
§16-2P-5. Heartbeat; notification; acknowledgment; penalties.
(a) If a person who intends to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman has determined, under §16-2P-3 of this code, that the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable heartbeat, the person shall not, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, perform or induce the abortion until all of the following requirements have been met and at least 24 hours have elapsed after the last of these requirements is met:
(2) The person intending to perform or induce the abortion shall inform the pregnant woman, to the best of the person’s knowledge, of the statistical probability of bringing the unborn human individual possessing a detectable fetal heartbeat to term based on the gestational age of the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying or, if the State Director of Health has specified statistical probability information pursuant to rules adopted under subsection (c) of this section, shall provide to the pregnant woman that information.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not apply if the person who intends to perform or induce the abortion believes that a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance with that subsection.
(c) The State Director of Health may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code that specify information regarding the statistical probability of bringing an unborn human individual possessing a detectable heartbeat to term based on the gestational age of the unborn human individual.
(d) This section does not have the effect of repealing or limiting any other provision of this code relating to informed consent for an abortion.
§16-2P-6. Abortion prohibition; documentation; penalties; exceptions.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person shall knowingly and purposefully perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying and whose fetal heartbeat has been detected in accordance with §16-2P-3(a) of this code.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to a physician who performs a medical procedure that, in the physician's reasonable medical judgment, is designed or intended to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.
(c) A person is not in violation of subsection (a) of this section if the person acts in accordance with §16-2P-3(a) of this code and the method used to determine the presence of a fetal heartbeat does not reveal a fetal heartbeat.
(d) Subsection (a) of this section does not have the effect of repealing or limiting any other provision of this code that restricts or regulates the performance or inducement of an abortion by a particular method or during a particular stage of a pregnancy.
(a) A person who performs or induces an abortion on a pregnant woman shall do whichever of the following is applicable:
(1) If the reason for the abortion purported is to preserve the health of the pregnant woman, the person shall specify in a written document the medical condition that the abortion is asserted to address and the medical rationale for the person's conclusion that the abortion is necessary to address that condition; or
(b) The person who specifies the information in the document described in subsection (b) of this section shall place the document in the pregnant woman's medical records. The person who specifies the information shall maintain a copy of the document in the person's own records for at least seven years from the date the document is created.
A pregnant woman on whom an abortion is performed or induced in violation of this article is not guilty of violating any provision of this article, is not guilty of attempting to commit, conspiring to commit, or complicity in committing a violation of any of its sections, and is not subject to a civil penalty based on the abortion being performed or induced in violation of any of those sections.
(1) A woman on whom an abortion was performed or induced in violation of §16-2P-4 or §16-2P-6 of this code.
(2) A woman on whom an abortion was performed or induced who was not given the information described in §16-2P-5 or who did not sign a form described in §16-2P-5 of this code.
(c) If the defendant in an action filed under subsection (a) of this section prevails and the court finds that the commencement of the action constitutes frivolous conduct and that the defendant was adversely affected by the frivolous conduct, the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees.
§16-2P-11. Reporting of information.
The information required to be recorded in §16-2P-3, §16-2P-4, §16-2P-6, and §16-2P-7 of this code shall be reported to the State Director of Health in accordance with the rules governing the reporting of other abortion information.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to enact the Fetal Heartbeat Act. The bill prohibits abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill provides exceptions. The bill applies only to intrauterine pregnancies. The bill makes findings. The bill establishes standards, requirements, and procedures. The bill requires documentation. The bill requires notice and acknowledgments. The bill provides for severability. The bill establishes criminal penalties. The bill permits civil actions. The bill defines terms. The bill provides for rulemaking.