Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0392 Compare Versions

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

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5	5	2023 -- S 0392
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7	7	LC001561
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9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BORN-ALIVE INFANT PROTECTION ACT
16	16	Introduced By: Senators E Morgan, Rogers, de la Cruz, DeLuca, F. Lombardi, Ciccone,
17	17	and Raptakis
18	18	Date Introduced: February 16, 2023
19	19	Referred To: Senate Judiciary
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby 1
24	24	amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 2
25	25	CHAPTER 99 3
26	26	BORN-ALIVE INFANT PROTECTION ACT 4
27	27	23-99-1. Short title. 5
28	28	This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Born-Alive Infant Protection Act." 6
29	29	23-99-2. Legislative findings and purpose. 7
30	30	(a) The general assembly of the State of Rhode Island finds that: 8
31	31	(1) The State of Rhode Island has a paramount interest in protecting all human life. 9
32	32	(2) If an attempted abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person 10
33	33	for all purposes under the laws of this state. 11
34	34	(3) It is not an infringement on a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy for this state to 12
35	35	assert its interest in protecting an infant whose live birth occurred as the result of an attempted 13
36	36	abortion. 14
37	37	(4) Without proper legal protection, newly born infants who have survived attempted 15
38	38	abortions have been denied appropriate life-saving or life-sustaining medical care and treatment 16
39	39	and have been left to die. 17
40	40	(b) Based on the findings in subsection (a) of this section, the purpose of this chapter is to: 18
41	41	(1) Ensure the protection and promotion of the health and well-being of all infants born 19
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45	45	alive in this state; and 1
46	46	(2) Mandate that health care providers give medically appropriate and reasonable life 2
47	47	saving and life-sustaining medical care and treatment to all born-alive infants. 3
48	48	23-99-3. Definitions. 4
49	49	As used in this chapter: 5
50	50	(1) "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or 6
51	51	any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable 7
52	52	pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable 8
53	53	likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child. Such use, prescription, or means is not an abortion 9
54	54	if done with the intent to: 10
55	55	(i) Save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child; 11
56	56	(ii) Remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion; or 12
57	57	(iii) Remove an ectopic pregnancy. 13
58	58	(2) "Born-alive" or "live birth" means the complete expulsion or extraction of an infant 14
59	59	from their mother, regardless of the state of gestational development, that, after expulsion or 15
60	60	extraction, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached, and regardless 16
61	61	of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean 17
62	62	section, or induced abortion, shows any evidence of life, including, but not limited to, one or more 18
63	63	of the following: 19
64	64	(i) Breathing; 20
65	65	(ii) A heartbeat; 21
66	66	(iii) Umbilical cord pulsation; or 22
67	67	(iv) Definite movement of voluntary muscles. 23
68	68	(3) "Consent" means the voluntary agreement or acquiescence by a person of age and with 24
69	69	the requisite mental capacity who is not under duress or coercion and who has knowledge or 25
70	70	understanding of the act or action to which they have agreed or acquiesced. 26
71	71	(4) "Facility" or "medical facility" means any public or private hospital, clinic, center, 27
72	72	medical school, medical training institution, health care facility, physician's office, infirmary, 28
73	73	dispensary, ambulatory surgical treatment center, or other institution or location wherein medical 29
74	74	care is provided to any person. 30
75	75	(5) "Infant" means a child of the species homo sapiens who has been completely expulsed 31
76	76	or extracted from their mother, regardless of the stage of gestational development, until the age of 32
77	77	thirty (30) days post birth. 33
78	78	(6) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in the State of Rhode Island. 34
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82	82	This term includes medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy. 1
83	83	(7) "Premature" or "preterm" means occurring prior to the thirty-seventh week of gestation. 2
84	84	23-99-4. Requirements and responsibilities. 3
85	85	(a) A person shall not deny or deprive an infant of nourishment with the intent to cause or 4
86	86	allow the death of the infant for any reason, including, but not limited to: 5
87	87	(1) The infant was born with a handicap; 6
88	88	(2) The infant is not wanted by the parent(s) or guardian(s); or 7
89	89	(3) The infant is born alive by natural or artificial means. 8
90	90	(b) A person shall not deprive an infant of medically appropriate and reasonable medical 9
91	91	care and treatment or surgical care. 10
92	92	(c) The requirements of this section shall not be construed to prevent an infant's parent(s) 11
93	93	or guardian(s) from refusing to give consent to medical treatment or surgical care which is not 12
94	94	medically necessary or reasonable, including care or treatment which either: 13
95	95	(1) Is not necessary to save the life of the infant; 14
96	96	(2) Has a potential risk to the infant's life or health that outweighs the potential benefit to 15
97	97	the infant of the treatment or care; or 16
98	98	(3) Is treatment that will do no more than temporarily prolong the act of dying when death 17
99	99	is imminent. 18
100	100	(d)(1) The physician performing an abortion must take all medically appropriate and 19
101	101	reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of a born-alive infant. If an abortion performed in a 20
102	102	hospital results in a live birth, the physician attending the abortion shall provide immediate medical 21
103	103	care to the infant, inform the mother of the live birth, and request transfer of the infant to an on-22
104	104	duty resident or emergency care physician who shall provide medically appropriate and reasonable 23
105	105	medical care and treatment to the infant. 24
106	106	(2) If an abortion performed in a facility other than a hospital results in a live birth, a 25
107	107	physician attending the abortion shall provide immediate medical care to the infant and call 9-1-1 26
108	108	for an emergency transfer of the infant to a hospital that shall provide medically appropriate and 27
109	109	reasonable care and treatment to the infant. 28
110	110	(e) If the physician described in subsection (d) of this section is unable to perform the duties 29
111	111	in that subsection because they are assisting the woman on whom the abortion was performed, then 30
112	112	an attending physician's assistant, nurse, or other health care provider must assume the duties 31
113	113	outlined in subsection (d) of this section. 32
114	114	(f) Any born-alive infant including one born in the course of an abortion procedure shall 33
115	115	be treated as a legal person under the laws of this state, with the same rights to medically appropriate 34
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119	119	and reasonable care and treatment, and birth and death (if death occurs) certificates shall be issued 1
120	120	accordingly. 2
121	121	(g) If, before the abortion, the mother, and if married, her husband, has or have stated in 3
122	122	writing that she, or they, do not wish to keep the infant in the event that the abortion results in a 4
123	123	live birth, and this writing is not retracted before the attempted abortion, the infant, if born alive, 5
124	124	shall immediately upon birth become a ward of the department of children, youth and families. 6
125	125	(h) No person may use any born-alive infant for any type of scientific research or other 7
126	126	kind of experimentation except as necessary to protect or preserve the life and health of the born-8
127	127	alive infant. 9
128	128	23-99-5. Exceptions. 10
129	129	The parent(s) or guardian(s) of a born-alive infant will not be held criminally or civilly 11
130	130	liable for the actions of a physician, nurse, or other health care provider that are in violation of this 12
131	131	chapter and to which the parent(s) or guardian(s) did not give consent. 13
132	132	23-99-6. Criminal penalties. 14
133	133	(a) Any physician, nurse, or other health care provider who intentionally, knowingly, or 15
134	134	negligently fails to provide medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment to a born alive 16
135	135	infant in the course of an attempted abortion shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall 17
136	136	be subject to imprisonment for a period of up to ten (10) years, or a fine of up to twenty-five 18
137	137	thousand dollars ($25,000), or both. 19
138	138	(b) Any violation of § 23-97-4(h) concerning the research use of a born-alive infant is a 20
139	139	felony and upon conviction shall be subject to imprisonment for a period of up to ten (10) years, or 21
140	140	a fine of up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or both. 22
141	141	23-99-7. Civil and administrative action. 23
142	142	In addition to whatever remedies are available under the statutory or common law of this 24
143	143	state, failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter shall: 25
144	144	(1) Provide a basis for a civil action for compensatory and punitive damages. Any 26
145	145	conviction under this chapter shall be admissible in a civil suit as prima facie evidence of a failure 27
146	146	to provide medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment to a born-alive infant. Any civil 28
147	147	action may be based on a claim that the death of or injury to the born-alive infant was a result of 29
148	148	simple negligence, gross negligence, wantonness, willfulness, intentional conduct, or another 30
149	149	violation of the legal standard of care. 31
150	150	(2) Provide a basis for professional disciplinary action under chapter 37 of title 5 for the 32
151	151	suspension or revocation of any license for physicians, licensed and registered nurses, or other 33
152	152	licensed or regulated persons. Any conviction of any person for any failure to comply with the 34
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156	156	requirements of this chapter shall result in the automatic suspension of their license for a period of 1
157	157	at least one year and said license shall be reinstated after that time only under such conditions as 2
158	158	the board of licensure and discipline shall require to ensure compliance with this chapter. 3
159	159	(3) Provide a basis for recovery for the parent(s) of the infant or the parent(s) or guardian(s) 4
160	160	of the mother, if the mother is a minor, for the wrongful death of the infant, whether or not the 5
161	161	infant was viable at the time the attempted abortion was performed. 6
162	162	23-99-8. Construction. 7
163	163	(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affirm, deny, expand, or contract any legal 8
164	164	status or legal right applicable to any member of the species homo sapiens at any point prior to 9
165	165	being born-alive, as defined in this chapter. 10
166	166	(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect existing federal or state law 11
167	167	regarding abortion. 12
168	168	(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as creating or recognizing a right to abortion. 13
169	169	(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter generally accepted medical standards. 14
170	170	23-99-9. Severability. 15
171	171	Any provision of this chapter held to be invalid or unenforceable by its terms, or as applied 16
172	172	to any person or circumstance, shall be construed in order to give it the maximum effect permitted 17
173	173	by law, unless such holding shall be one of utter invalidity or unenforceability, in which event such 18
174	174	provision shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the remainder or the application of such 19
175	175	provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other dissimilar circumstances. 20
176	176	23-99-10. Right of intervention. 21
177	177	The general assembly, by joint resolution, may appoint one or more of its members, who 22
178	178	sponsored or cosponsored this chapter in the member's official capacity, to intervene as a matter of 23
179	179	right in any case in which the constitutionality of this law is challenged. 24
180	180	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 25
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187	187	EXPLANATION
188	188	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
189	189	OF
190	190	A N A C T
191	191	RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BORN-ALIVE INFANT PROTECTION ACT
192	192	***
193	193	This act would provide that infants born-alive during an abortion procedure are entitled to 1
194	194	the same medical care as infants born-alive as a result of natural, premature or caesarian delivery 2
195	195	with criminal penalties for medical personnel who fail to perform their duties and obligations set 3
196	196	forth in the act. This act would also provide a civil action for compensatory and punitive damages 4
197	197	and a basis for professional disciplinary action. 5
198	198	This act would take effect upon passage. 6
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200	200	LC001561
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