An Act to Require an Ultrasound and Certain Counseling Before an Abortion
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1614
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: GRIFFIN
Amends: 22 MRSA §1598, 22 MRSA §1599-A, 22 MRSA §1599-B

Legislative Document
No. 1614
H.P. 1039
House of Representatives, April 11, 2023
An Act to Require an Ultrasound and Certain Counseling Before an 
Abortion
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GRIFFIN of Levant.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §1598, sub-§2, ¶C is enacted to read:
C.  "Medical emergency" means a condition that, on the basis of the good faith clinical 
judgment of a health care professional, as defined in section 1596, subsection 1, 
paragraph C, complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman to necessitate the 
immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or to avoid a delay that would 
create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily 
function.
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §1598, sub-§2, ¶D is enacted to read:
D.  "Obstetric ultrasound" or "ultrasound" means the use of ultrasonic waves for 
diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and to monitor a developing fetus.
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §1598, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5.  Waiting period.  Unless there is a medical emergency, a health care professional, 
as defined in section 1596, subsection 1, paragraph C, may not perform an abortion upon a 
pregnant woman before 48 hours have passed since the health care professional secured the 
informed written consent of the pregnant woman as required under section 1599-A and the 
performance of the obstetric ultrasound as required under section 1599-B.
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §1599-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 262, §6, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Informed consent.  To ensure that the consent for an abortion is truly informed 
consent, the health care professional, as defined in section 1596, subsection 1, paragraph 
C, shall, in addition to performing the ultrasound as required in section 1599-B, inform the 
woman, in a manner that in the health care professional's professional judgment is not 
misleading and that will be understood by the patient, of at least the following:
A.  According to the health care professional's best judgment she is pregnant;
B.  The number of weeks elapsed from the probable time of the conception;
C.  The particular risks associated with her own pregnancy and the abortion technique 
to be performed; and
D.  At the woman's request, alternatives Alternatives to abortion such as childbirth and 
parenting and adoption and information concerning public and private agencies that 
will provide the woman with economic and other assistance to carry the fetus to term, 
including, if the woman so requests, a list of these agencies and the services available 
from each.
Sec. 5.  22 MRSA §1599-B is enacted to read:
§1599-B.  Required ultrasound before abortion
1.  Ultrasound required.  Prior to a pregnant woman's giving informed consent under 
section 1599-A to having an abortion performed, a health care professional who is to 
perform the abortion or a qualified ultrasound provider to whom the responsibility has been 
delegated by the health care professional shall:
A.  Perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman and provide a simultaneous 
explanation of what the ultrasound images are depicting, which must include the 
presence and location of the fetus and the number of fetuses depicted, and, if the 
ultrasound images indicate that fetal death has occurred, inform the pregnant woman 
of that fact;
B.  Display the ultrasound images so that the pregnant woman may view the images;
C.  Provide a medical description of the ultrasound images, which must include the 
dimensions of the fetus and the presence of external members and internal organs, if 
present and viewable; and
D.  Retain in the pregnant woman's medical record a signed certification from the 
pregnant woman that she has been presented with the information required to be 
provided under paragraph C and has viewed the ultrasound images or declined to do 
so.  The signed certification must be on a form provided by the department.
2.  Not viewed.  When the ultrasound images are provided to and reviewed by the 
pregnant woman under subsection 1, nothing in this section may be construed to prevent 
the pregnant woman from averting her eyes from the ultrasound images.  The health care 
professional, the qualified ultrasound provider and the pregnant woman may not be subject 
to any penalty if the pregnant woman refuses to look at the displayed ultrasound images.
3.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Abortion" has the same meaning as in section 1598, subsection 2, paragraph A.
B.  "Health care professional" has the same meaning as in section 1596, subsection 1, 
paragraph C.
C.  "Obstetric ultrasound" or "ultrasound" has the same meaning as in section 1598, 
subsection 2, paragraph D.
D.  "Qualified ultrasound provider" means a person who is licensed or certified by a 
board or commission established under Title 32 to perform an obstetric ultrasound.
SUMMARY
This bill requires a health care professional to ensure that a pregnant woman undergoes 
an ultrasound and receives information about alternatives to abortion, including parenting 
the child, at least 48 hours before she can have an abortion.  The existence of a medical 
emergency eliminates the 48-hour waiting period.