Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1599 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3434 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1599
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Sally P. Kerans and Rebecca L. Rausch
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act enhancing access to abortion care.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Sally P. Kerans13th Essex1/20/2023Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex1/26/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/26/2023Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex1/26/2023Carol A. Doherty3rd Bristol2/1/2023Jennifer Balinsky Armini8th Essex2/1/2023Steven Owens29th Middlesex2/3/2023Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex2/10/2023David Paul Linsky5th Middlesex2/24/2023Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex2/27/2023Tram T. Nguyen18th Essex2/27/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/28/2023Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/28/2023 1 of 5
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3434 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1599
18	18	By Representative Kerans of Danvers and Senator Rausch, a joint petition (accompanied by bill,
19	19	House, No. 1599) of Sally P. Kerans, Rebecca L. Rausch and others further regulating access to
20	20	abortion care. The Judiciary.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
24	24	(2023-2024)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act enhancing access to abortion care.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition,
30	30	2is hereby amended in section 12F by striking out, in lines 14 and 15, the words “have come in
31	31	3contact with” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- be at risk of contracting; and
32	32	4further amended by inserting after the word “diagnosis”, in line 18, the following word:- ,
33	33	5prevention; and further amended by striking out the third paragraph.
34	34	6 SECTION 2. Said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in section 12I
35	35	7by adding at the end thereof the following sentence:- No conscientious objection shall be valid if
36	36	8an abortion is required to preserve the life of a pregnant person and no medical staff other than
37	37	9the objector are available to perform or support the performance of the abortion.
38	38	10 SECTION 3. Said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in section 12K
39	39	11by striking out the word “12R” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- 12R.4; and
40	40	12further amended by adding the following definitions:- 2 of 5
41	41	13 “Abortion-related care”, a medically appropriate service complementary to the
42	42	14performance of an abortion.
43	43	15 “Provider”, a licensed health care professional who, acting within their scope of practice,
44	44	16may lawfully perform an abortion or provide abortion-related care.
45	45	17 “Provider facility”, a structure in which a provider performs abortions or provides
46	46	18abortion-related care.
47	47	19 SECTION 4. Said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in section 12L
48	48	20by inserting after each instance of the word “abortion” the following words:- or abortion-related
49	49	21care; and further amended by striking the word “is” and inserting in place thereof the word:- are.
50	50	22 SECTION 5. Said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in section
51	51	2312M by striking the words “physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or nurse midwife”
52	52	24and inserting in place thereof the following word:- provider.
53	53	25 SECTION 6. Said chapter 112, as so appearing and as amended by Chapter 127 of the
54	54	26Acts of 2022, is hereby further amended in section 12N by striking the word “physician” in each
55	55	27instance and inserting in place thereof the following word:- provider.
56	56	28 SECTION 7. Said chapter 112, as amended by Chapter 127 of the Acts of 2022, is hereby
57	57	29further amended in section 12N½ by striking the word “physician” in each instance and inserting
58	58	30in place thereof the following word:- provider.
59	59	31 SECTION 8. Section 12O of said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby repealed.
60	60	32 SECTION 9. Said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in section 12P
61	61	33by striking the second sentence. 3 of 5
62	62	34 SECTION 10. Said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in section
63	63	3512Q by striking the words “performed by a physician, physician assistant, certified nurse
64	64	36practitioner or certified nurse midwife”.
65	65	37 SECTION 11. Said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking
66	66	38out section 12R and inserting in place thereof the following sections:-
67	67	39 Section 12R. A provider must obtain a pregnant person’s written informed consent prior
68	68	40to performing an abortion in a multilingual form prescribed by the commissioner of the
69	69	41department of public health, and the pregnant person must execute said informed consent form
70	70	42prior to receiving an abortion, except: (1) in an emergency, when an abortion is required to
71	71	43preserve the health of the pregnant person, in which case the provider may perform the abortion
72	72	44without an executed informed consent form; or (2) when a pregnant person is incapacitated due
73	73	45to vegetative state, and said pregnant person was incapacitated prior to and at all times during the
74	74	46pregnancy, and another person serves as legally valid health care proxy for the pregnant person,
75	75	47in which case the health care proxy must execute the informed consent form. A pregnant
76	76	48person’s signature on the consent form shall not be deemed invalid due to the pregnant person’s
77	77	49age. No waiting period shall be imposed between the execution of the consent form and the
78	78	50performance of the abortion. Providers shall maintain executed informed consent forms for a
79	79	51period of time and in a manner consistent with retention of other medical records.
80	80	52 (b) The consent form and any other forms or related documents shall be confidential and
81	81	53shall not be released to any person other than the patient, the person whose consent is validly
82	82	54obtained pursuant to this section or any other applicable state or federal law, or the provider who
83	83	55performed the abortion, except by the patient’s written informed consent or proper judicial order. 4 of 5
84	84	56 Section 12R.1. (a) No pregnant person shall be required, as a precondition to receiving
85	85	57health-related information, health services or medical care, to: (i) wait for any period of time,
86	86	58beyond the standard of care or as may be operationally necessary, after executing the informed
87	87	59consent form required by this chapter to initiate an abortion or abortion-related care; (ii) undergo
88	88	60an ultrasound inconsistent with the standard of care; (iii) review, see, or hear the results of an
89	89	61ultrasound; (iv) appear at a provider facility for purposes of receiving an abortion or abortion-
90	90	62related care more frequently or for a longer duration than is consistent with the standard of care;
91	91	63or (v) receive counseling or information in any format or medium that is medically inaccurate,
92	92	64medically unnecessary, or misleading.
93	93	65 (b) Provider facilities shall not be required to: (i) affiliate in any way with, or be
94	94	66constructed within a specified distance of, a hospital, as defined in section 52 of chapter 111; (ii)
95	95	67construct or maintain medically unnecessary physical structures, sizes, or spaces; (iii) hire only
96	96	68providers with admitting privileges at a hospital, as defined in section 52 of chapter 111; or (iv)
97	97	69comply with any other medically unnecessary physical or operational standards or requirements.
98	98	70Provider facilities shall be required to comply or substantially comply with the licensure
99	99	71requirements for clinics providing ambulatory surgery, consistent with section 51 of chapter 111,
100	100	72only if the provider facility otherwise operates as a free standing ambulatory surgical center.
101	101	73 (c) The attorney general shall enforce this section, provided that nothing herein shall
102	102	74preclude a private right of action asserting violations thereof. All actions must be commenced
103	103	75within ten years after the cause of action accrues. 5 of 5
104	104	76 Section 12R.2. (a) The department of public health shall publish on its website and in
105	105	77print copy a listing of provider facilities opting to be included on said listing. The listing shall be
106	106	78updated annually, or more frequently as required or requested by a provider or provider facility.
107	107	79 (b) The department of public health shall engage in a culturally competent and
108	108	80linguistically diverse public education campaign to educate providers and the public about so-
109	109	81called crisis pregnancy centers and pregnancy resource centers, including without limitation the
110	110	82lack of medical services or licensed medical professionals at said centers and the availability of
111	111	83licensed medical and family planning services across the commonwealth.
112	112	84 (c) The department of veterans services shall, in consultation with the department of
113	113	85public health, provide information to veterans residing in the commonwealth and their families
114	114	86regarding available abortion services and support for obtaining those services, including without
115	115	87limitation financial assistance provided pursuant to chapter 118E.
116	116	88 Section 12R.3. A person may not provide ultrasound services pertaining to a possible or
117	117	89actual pregnancy except under the supervision of a provider or other licensed health care
118	118	90professional who, acting within their scope of practice, provides medical care for people who are
119	119	91pregnant or may become pregnant.
120	120	92 Section 12R.4. A health care professional working in a school based health center shall
121	121	93keep confidential any abortion-related information or care provided to a patient at the center.