RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 482 (HB 357) 2021 Regular Session Crews
Existing law requires that an individual abortion report for each abortion performed or
induced be completed by the attending physician. Stipulates that the report shall be
confidential and not contain the name or address of the woman receiving the abortion
procedure and provides for the required content of the report.
New law retains existing law and adds the following requirements for the content of
individual abortion reports:
(1)If the abortion was performed on a minor, the report shall include a notation
indicating whether or not the physician or any other staff member of the abortion
facility suspected that the minor was the victim of any form of child abuse or neglect
and filed a report of such abuse or neglect in accordance with existing law.
(2)If the abortion was performed on a minor pursuant to a "judicial bypass order" (court
order) in lieu of parental consent as allowed in existing law, the report shall include
all of the following:
(a)The judicial district of the court that issued the order.
(b)An indication of whether or not the minor was required to participate in an
evaluation and counseling session with a mental health professional from the
La. Dept. of Health (LDH) or a staff member from the Dept. of Children and
Family Services (DCFS) as allowed in existing law.
(c)A notation of whether the judicial bypass was granted because of a finding
that the minor girl was mature and capable of giving informed consent, as
provided for in existing law.
(d)A notation of whether the judicial bypass was granted because of a finding
that the performance of the abortion without parental notification and consent
was in the best interest of the minor, as provided for in existing law.
(e)An indication of whether or not the court issued a protective order for the
minor, afforded her the continued services of a court-appointed special
advocate, or did both, as allowed in existing law.
(f)An indication of whether or not the physician or any other staff member of
the abortion facility referred the woman to any licensed professional for
post-abortion counseling.
(g)An indication of whether or not the physician or any other staff member of
the abortion facility referred the woman to LDH or DCFS for any health
services or other human services.
Existing law requires LDH to collect all individual abortion reports prepared in accordance
with existing law and collate and evaluate all data gathered from the reports. Requires LDH
to publish a statistical report annually based on such data from abortions performed in the
previous calendar year.
New law retains existing law and adds a requirement that the annual statistical reports on
abortions published by LDH include a special section addressing abortions performed on
minors. Requires that this section of the report feature, at minimum, a compilation of the
information required by new law to be included in individual abortion reports.
New law amends prior law relative to applications for court orders by minors seeking
abortions and appeals from denials of those applications to provide that jurisdiction to hear
such an application or appeal shall be extended to a court having juvenile jurisdiction in a
contiguous parish if either of the following conditions is met: (1)The minor's parent or guardian is a presiding judge of the juvenile court in the parish
in which the minor is domiciled.
(2)The parish in which the minor is domiciled has a population of less than 10,000
according to the latest federal decennial census.
Effective August 1, 2021.
(Amends R.S. 40:1061.14(B)(1) and 1061.21(A)(intro. para.), (4), (5)(b), and (D); Adds R.S.
40:1061.21(A)(5)(c))