‘An Act To Strengthen the Consent Laws for Abortions Performed on Minors’
| SP0031 LD 83 |
Session - 127th Maine Legislature C "A", Filing Number S-197, Sponsored by
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LR 370 Item 2 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Strengthen the Consent Laws for Abortions Performed on Minors’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1597-A, sub-§1, ¶B-1 is enacted to read:
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §1597-A, sub-§1, ¶¶D and E are enacted to read:
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §1597-A, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 573, §2, is amended to read:
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §1597-A, sub-§2, ¶¶B and C, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 573, §2, are repealed.
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §1597-A, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §1597-A, sub-§4, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 573, §2, is amended to read:
(1) The minor has received information on prenatal care and alternatives to abortion and that there are agencies that will provide assistance;
(2) The minor has received an explanation that the minor may withdraw an abortion decision or reconsider a decision to carry a pregnancy to term;
(3) The alternatives available for managing the pregnancy have been clearly and fully explored with the minor;
(4) The minor has received an explanation about agencies available to provide birth control information;
(5) The minor has discussed with the person providing the information and counseling the possibility of involving the minor's parents, guardian or other adult family members in the minor's decision making about the pregnancy; and
(6) The reasons for not involving the minor's parents, guardian or other adult family members are put in writing on the form by the minor or the person providing the information and counseling; and
(7) The minor has been given an adequate opportunity to ask questions.
The person providing the information and counseling shall also sign and date the form, and include that person's address and telephone number. The person shall keep a copy for that person's files and shall give the form to the minor or, if the minor requests and if the person providing the information is not the attending physician, transmit the form to the minor's attending physician.
Sec. 7. 22 MRSA §1597-A, sub-§6, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 573, §2, is amended to read:
(1) The initials of the minor;
(2) The age of the minor;
(3) That the minor has been fully informed of the risks and consequences of the abortion;
(4) That the minor is of sound mind and has sufficient intellectual capacity to consent to the abortion;
(5) That, if the court does not grant the minor majority rights for the purpose of consent to the abortion, the court should find that the abortion is in the best interest of the minor and give judicial consent to the abortion; and
(7) That, if the minor does not have private counsel, that the court may appoint counsel.
The minor or the next friend shall sign the petition.’
summary
This amendment, which is the minority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary, replaces the bill. The amendment deletes references to abortions performed on incapacitated persons.
The amendment retains current law concerning the consent necessary for a physician to perform an abortion on a pregnant minor, but the amendment provides that an abortion may not be performed unless, in addition to the minor's receiving information and counseling, at least one of the minor's parents or guardian or adult family member consents to the abortion. The amendment does not permit a minor or a counselor to consent to an abortion without a parent's consenting, except that the amendment permits a physician to perform an abortion without the required consent if the physician determines that a medical emergency exists. The amendment retains the judicial bypass in current law that allows a minor or next friend of the minor to petition the Probate Court or District Court for consent rather than obtaining parental consent. This amendment limits who may act as the next friend of the minor to adult family members and counselors. If a pregnant minor files a petition in the Probate Court or District Court for consent to an abortion without parental consent, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor, and the guardian ad litem is directed to act to maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings.
The amendment defines "medical emergency" and "physician."