98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB2683

 

Introduced 2/21/2013, by Rep. Barbara Wheeler

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Ultrasound Opportunity Act. Sets forth legislative findings and definitions. Provides that at any facility where abortions are performed, the physician who is to perform the abortion, the referring physician, or another qualified person working in conjunction with either physician shall offer any woman seeking an abortion after 7 weeks of gestation an opportunity to receive and view an active ultrasound of her unborn child by someone qualified to perform ultrasounds at the facility, or at a facility listed in a listing of local ultrasound providers provided by the facility, prior to the woman having any part of an abortion performed or induced, and prior to the administration of any anesthesia or medication in preparation for the abortion. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall prepare and make available a reporting form, to be submitted by each abortion facility to the Department annually. Provides that the requirements of the Act shall not apply when, in the medical judgment of the physician performing or inducing the abortion, there exists a medical emergency. Contains a severability provision.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning public health.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Ultrasound Opportunity Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative findings and purpose.
7    (a) The General Assembly finds as follows:
8        (1) Ultrasound requirements serve an essential medical
9    purpose in confirming the presence, location, and
10    gestational age of a pregnancy.
11        (2) Ultrasound requirements also serve an essential
12    medical purpose in diagnosing ectopic pregnancies which,
13    if left undiagnosed, can result in infertility or even
14    fatal blood loss.
15        (3) Furthermore, it is critical to the psychological
16    and physical well-being of a woman considering an abortion
17    that she receive complete and accurate information on the
18    reality and status of her pregnancy and of her unborn
19    child.
20        (4) The decision to abort "is an important, and often a
21    stressful one, and it is desirable and imperative that it
22    be made with full knowledge of its nature and
23    consequences". Planned Parenthood v. Danforth, 428 U.S.

 

 

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1    52, 67 (1976).
2    (b) Based on the findings in subsection (a) of this
3Section, the purposes of this Act are to:
4        (1) protect the physical health and welfare of every
5    woman considering an abortion;
6        (2) ensure that every woman considering an abortion
7    receive complete information on the reality and status of
8    her pregnancy and of her unborn child and that every woman
9    submitting to an abortion do so only after giving her
10    voluntary and informed consent to the abortion procedure;
11        (3) protect the unborn child from a woman's uninformed
12    decision to have an abortion; and
13        (4) reduce "the risk that a woman may elect an
14    abortion, only to discover later, with devastating
15    psychological consequences, that her decision was not
16    fully informed". Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833,
17    882 (1992).
 
18    Section 10. Definitions. Unless the language or context
19clearly indicates a different meaning is intended, the
20following words or phrases for the purpose of this Act shall be
21given the meaning ascribed to them:
22    "Abortion" means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug,
23or any other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of
24a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to
25increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life

 

 

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1or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead
2fetus.
3    "Medical emergency" means a condition that, on the basis of
4the physician's good faith clinical judgment, so complicates
5the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to necessitate the
6immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or for
7which a delay will create serious risk of substantial and
8irreversible impairment of major bodily function.
9    "Physician" means any person licensed to practice medicine
10in all its branches under the Medical Practice Act of 1987.
11    "Qualified person" means a person having documented
12evidence that he or she has completed a course in the operation
13of ultrasound equipment and is in compliance with any other
14requirements of law regarding the operation of ultrasound
15equipment.
 
16    Section 15. Offer of ultrasound required.
17    (a) At any facility where abortions are performed, the
18physician who is to perform the abortion, the referring
19physician, or another qualified person working in conjunction
20with either physician shall offer any woman seeking an abortion
21after 7 weeks of gestation an opportunity to receive and view
22an active ultrasound of her unborn child by someone qualified
23to perform ultrasounds at the facility, or at a facility listed
24in a listing of local ultrasound providers provided by the
25facility, prior to the woman having any part of an abortion

 

 

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1performed or induced, and prior to the administration of any
2anesthesia or medication in preparation for the abortion.
3    (b) The ultrasound shall be performed by a qualified person
4or persons. The active ultrasound image must be of a quality
5consistent with standard medical practice. The woman's
6response to the offer must be documented by the facility,
7including the date and time of the offer and the woman's
8signature attesting to her informed decision to accept or
9decline the offer.
 
10    Section 20. Reports. The Department of Public Health shall
11prepare and make available a reporting form, to be submitted by
12each abortion facility to the Department annually. The form
13shall provide for the collection of the following information:
14        (1) The number of women who chose to view an ultrasound
15    of their unborn children pursuant to this Act and the
16    number who did not; and of each of those numbers, the
17    number who, to the best of the reporting facility's
18    information and belief, went on to obtain the abortion.
19        (2) The name of the facility.
20        (3) The date of the report.
 
21    Section 25. Medical emergency. The requirements under this
22Act shall not apply when, in the medical judgment of the
23physician performing or inducing the abortion based on the
24particular facts of the case before him or her, there exists a

 

 

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1medical emergency.
 
2    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
3severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.