DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute part of the law
or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP ORT DIGEST
HB 815 2016 Regular Session Stokes
Keyword and oneliner of the instrument as it left the House
HUMAN REMAINS: Prohibits post-abortion harvesting of fetal remains and requires burial or
cremation of such remains
Report adopts Senate amendments to:
1. Delete present law requiring that the attending physician inform each woman upon whom
he performs or induces an abortion of the provisions of present law and proposed law relative
to disposal of fetal remains within 24 hours after the abortion is performed or induced.
2. Delete proposed law providing that whoever violates the provisions of proposed law shall
be subject to criminal penalties relative to the illegal purchase or sale of human organs
provided in present law.
3. Revise proposed law providing that nothing therein shall be construed to prohibit the
donation of bodily remains from a human embryo or fetus whose death was caused by a
natural miscarriage or stillbirth to provide instead that nothing in proposed law shall be
construed to prohibit any transaction related to such a donation.
Report rejects Senate amendments which would have:
1. Established an exception to the prohibition provided in proposed law on buying, selling,
donating, or otherwise transferring or using fetal remains when such transfer or use of fetal
remains is undertaken with any of the following purposes:
(a)For final disposition of the remains in accordance with proposed law and present law.
(b)To provide knowledge solely to the mother, such as for pathological or diagnostic
purposes.
(c)To provide knowledge solely to law enforcement officers, such as the case of an autopsy following a fetal homicide.
Report amends the bill to:
1. Establish the exception provided for in the rejected Senate amendment inclusive of necessary
technical corrections.
2. Change the term "fetal homicide" appearing in proposed law to "feticide".
3. Make technical changes as necessary for conformity with adopted Senate amendments.
Digest of the bill as proposed by the Conference Committee
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 in accordance with present law
relative to disposition of human remains (R.S. 8:651 et seq.).
Proposed law deletes present law requiring that the attending physician inform each woman upon
whom he performs or induces an abortion of the provisions of present law and proposed law relative
to disposal of fetal remains within 24 hours after the abortion is performed or induced.
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 civil penalties
relative to abortion, generally, as 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 feticide.
(3)Any transaction related to 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 state and federal 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.
(Amends R.S. 40:1061.25)