GREEN SHEET REDIGEST
HB 815 2016 Regular Session Stokes
(KEYWORD, SUMMARY, AND DIGEST as amended by Senate committee
amendments)
HUMAN REMAINS: Prohibits post-abortion harvesting of fetal remains and requires
burial or cremation of such remains
DIGEST
Present law relative to regulation of abortion provides, in part, that each physician who
performs or induces an abortion which does not result in a live birth shall insure that the
remains of the child are disposed of in accordance with applicable rules and regulations of
the Department of Health and Hospitals. Proposed law revises present law to provide that
each such physician shall insure that the remains of the child are disposed of by interment
or cremation as required by present law relative to human remains (R.S. 8:651 et seq.).
Proposed law provides legislative findings regarding post-abortion harvesting of fetal organs,
tissues, and cells.
Proposed law provides that it shall be unlawful for any person or entity to buy, sell, donate,
accept, distribute, or otherwise transfer or use for any purpose the intact body of a human
embryo or fetus whose death was knowingly caused by an induced abortion, or the human
organs, tissues or cells obtained from a human embryo or fetus whose death was knowingly
caused by an induced abortion. Provides that whoever violates the provisions of proposed
law shall be subject to the civil penalties relative to abortion, generally, provided in present
law (R.S. 40:1061.29).
Proposed law stipulates that nothing in proposed law shall be construed to prohibit any of
the following:
(1)Final disposition of the bodily remains of the aborted human being in accordance
with present law.
(2)Any conduct permitted under present law that is undertaken with any of the following
purposes:
(a)The purpose of providing knowledge solely to the mother, such as for
pathological or diagnostic purposes.
(b)The purpose of providing knowledge solely to law enforcement officers, such
as the case of an autopsy following a fetal homicide.
(3)The donation of bodily remains from a human embryo or fetus whose death was
caused by a natural miscarriage or stillbirth, in accordance with the guidelines and
prohibitions provided in applicable laws.
Proposed law stipulates that nothing in proposed law shall be construed to alter generally
accepted medical standards, affect existing federal or state law regarding the practice of
abortion, or to create or recognize a right to abortion.
Proposed law provides that any provision of proposed law held to be invalid or
unenforceable by its terms, or as applied to any person or circumstance, shall be construed
so as to give it the maximum effect permitted by law, unless such holding is one of utter
invalidity or unenforceability, in which event such provision shall be deemed severable and
shall not affect the remainder of proposed law or the application of such provision to other
persons not similarly situated or to other dissimilar circumstances.
Page 1 of 2
Prepared by Christine Arbo Peck. (Amends R.S. 40:1061.25)
Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Health and Welfare to
the engrossed bill
1. Removed criminal penalties.
Page 2 of 2
Prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.