South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL › Subchapter 61-12 - STANDARDS FOR LICENSING ABORTION CLINICS › Part I - DEFINITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE › Section 61-12.I.101 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
For the purposes of these regulations, the following
				  definitions apply:
A. Abortion. The
				use of an instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance or device with intent
				to terminate the pregnancy of a woman, known to be pregnant, for reasons other
				than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or
				health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus.
B. Abortion Clinic. Any facility, other than
				a hospital as defined in Section101.J, in which any second trimester or five or
				more first trimester abortions per month are performed.
C. Allied Health Professional. A person other
				than a physician who possesses specialized training and skill acquired by
				completing certain courses of study or intensive job-related training and,
				where applicable, has been duly licensed or registered by appropriate licensing
				or certification agencies. All allied health professionals must be supervised
				by a physician.
D. Conception. The
				fecundation of the ovum by the spermatozoa.
E. Consent. A signed and witnessed voluntary
				agreement to the performance of an abortion.
F. Department. The South Carolina Department
				of Health and Environmental Control.
G. Emancipated Minor. A minor who is or has
				been married or has by court order been freed from the care, custody, and
				control of her parents.
H. Fetal
				Death. Death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a
				product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the
				death is indicated by the fact that after such expulsion or extraction, the
				fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life, such as beating of
				the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary
				muscles.
I. Fire Safety Authority.
				The State Fire Marshal, or his designee, who performs facility fire and safety
				inspections.
J. Hospital. An
				institution licensed for hospital operation by the Department in accordance
				with the provisions of Article 3, Chapter 7, Title 44, of the S.C. Code of
				Laws, 1976, as amended, and that has also been certified by the Department to
				be a suitable facility for the performance of abortion.
K. In Loco Parentis. Any person over the age
				of 18 who has placed him/herself in the position of a lawful parent by assuming
				obligations that are incidental to the parental relationship and has so served
				for a period of 60 days.
L.
				Licensee. The person, partnership, corporation, association, organization, or
				professional entity on whom rests the ultimate responsibility and authority for
				the conduct of the abortion clinic.
M. Medical Emergency. That condition which,
				on the basis of the physician's good faith judgment, so complicates a pregnancy
				as to necessitate an immediate abortion to avert the risk of her death or for
				which a delay will create serious risk of substantial and irreversible
				impairment of major bodily functions.
N. Minor. A female under the age of
				17.
O. Physician. A person licensed
				to practice medicine in this State.
P. Pregnancy. The condition of a woman
				carrying a fetus or embryo within her body.
Q. Probable Gestational Age of the Embryo or
				Fetus.
What, in the judgment of the attending physician, based upon
				  the attending physician's examination and the woman's medical history, is with
				  reasonable probability, the gestational age of the embryo or fetus at the time
				  the abortion is planned to be performed. This estimate must be guided by
				  recommendations found in The American College of Obstetricians and
				  Gynecologists Standards for Obstetric-Gynecologic Services, i.e., calculated
				  from the first day of the last menstrual period.
R. Products of Conception. Fetal and
				embryonic tissues resulting from implantation in the uterus.
S. Trimester. A 12-week period of pregnancy.
1. First. The first 12 weeks of pregnancy
				commencing with conception rather than computed on the basis of the menstrual
				cycle.
2. Second. That portion of a
				pregnancy following the 12th week and extending through the 24th week of
				gestation.
3. Third. That portion
				of pregnancy beginning with the 25th week of gestation.
4. All other references in this regulation to
				gestational age will refer to that calculated from the first day of the last
				menstrual period as used in The American College of Obstetricians and
				Gynecologists Standards for Obstetric-Gynecologic Services. The following is
				furnished to provide clarification of gestational age:
Calculation
Weeks of Gestational Age
Conception
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
LMP
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26