House Amendment 907
S 474 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
Abortion - Fetal Heartbeat

Rep. Bauer proposes the following amendment (LC-474.VR1101H):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 2, by striking Section 44-41-640(A)-(C) and inserting:

Section 44-41-640. If a pregnancy is at least eight weeks after fertilization, then the abortion provider who is to perform or induce an abortion, or an agent of the abortion provider, shall tell the woman that it may be possible to make the embryonic or fetal heartbeat of the unborn child audible for the pregnant woman to hear and shall ask the woman if she would like to hear the heartbeat. If the woman would like to hear the heartbeat, then the abortion provider shall, using whichever method the physician and patient agree is best under the circumstances, make the fetal heartbeat of the unborn child audible for the pregnant woman to hear.(A) It is not a violation of Section 44-41-630 if an abortion is performed or induced on a pregnant woman due to a medical emergency or is performed to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent the serious risk of a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.

 (B)(1) Section 44-41-630 does not apply to a physician who performs or induces an abortion if the physician determines according to standard medical practice that a medical emergency exists or is performed to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent the serious risk of a substantial or irreversible impairment of a major bodily function that prevents compliance with the section.

  (2) A physician who performs or induces an abortion on a pregnant woman based on the exception in item (1) shall make written notations in the pregnant woman's medical records of the following:

   (a) the physician's belief that a medical emergency necessitating the abortion existed;

   (b) the medical condition of the pregnant woman that assertedly prevented compliance with Section 44-41-630; and

   (c) the medical rationale to support the physician's or person's conclusion that the pregnant woman's medical condition necessitated the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death and a medical emergency necessitating the abortion existed.

  (3) A physician performing a medical procedure pursuant to item (1) shall make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve the life of the pregnant woman's unborn child, to the extent that it does not risk the death of the pregnant woman or the serious risk of a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman in a manner consistent with reasonable medical practices. A medical procedure shall not be considered necessary if it is performed based upon a claim or diagnosis that the woman will engage in conduct that she intends to result in her death or in a substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function.

  (4)(a) For at least seven years from the date the notations are made in the pregnant woman's medical records, the physician owner of the pregnant woman's medical records shall maintain a record of the notations in his own records a copy of the notations.

   (b) A person, if he is the owner of the pregnant woman's medical records, who violates this subsection is guilty of a felony and must be fined up to ten thousand dollars, imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

   (c) An entity with ownership of the pregnant woman's medical records that violates item (3) must be fined up to fifty thousand dollars.

 (C)(1) It is not a violation of Section 44-41-630 for a physician to perform a medical procedure necessary in his reasonable medical judgment to prevent the death of a pregnant woman or the serious risk of a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.

  (2) It is presumed that the following medical conditions constitute a risk of death or serious risk of a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of a pregnant woman: molar pregnancy, partial molar pregnancy, blighted ovum, ectopic pregnancy, severe preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, abruptio placentae, severe physical maternal trauma, uterine rupture, intrauterine fetal demise, and miscarriage. However, when an unborn child is alive in utero, the physician must make all reasonable efforts to deliver and save the life of an unborn child during the process of separating the unborn child from the pregnant woman, to the extent that it does not adversely affect the life or physical health of the pregnant woman, and in a manner that is consistent with reasonable medical practice. The enumeration of the medical conditions in this item is not intended to exclude or abrogate other conditions that satisfy the exclusions contained in item (1) or prevent other procedures that are not included in the definition of abortion.

  (3) A physician who performs a medical procedure pursuant to item (1) shall declare, in a written document maintained with the woman's medical records, that the medical procedure was necessary, the woman's medical condition necessitating the procedure, the physician's rationale for his conclusion that the procedure was necessary, and that all reasonable efforts were made to save the unborn child in the event it was living prior to the procedure. The declaration required by this item must be placed in the woman's medical records not later than thirty days after the procedure was completed. A physician's exercise of reasonable medical judgment in relation to a medical procedure undertaken pursuant to this subsection is presumed to be within the applicable standard of care.