H. B. 4571
(By Delegate Ashley)
[Introduced February 19, 2010
; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §16-2L-1, §16-2L-2,
§16-2L-3, §16-2L-4 and §16-2L-5, all relating to creating the
Abortion Complication Reporting Act;
requiring physicians to
file regular reports with the Department of Health and Human
Resources regarding patients who require medical treatment as
a result of an abortion; and providing criminal penalties for
violation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-2L-1, §16-2L-2,
§16-2L-3, §16-2L-4 and §16-2L-5, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2L. ABORTION COMPLICATION REPORTING ACT.
§16-2L-1. Short title.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the Abortion
Complication Reporting Act.
§16-2L-2. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(1) "Department" means the State Department of Health and
Human Resources.
(2) "Medical treatment" means, but is not limited to,
hospitalization, laboratory tests, surgery or prescription of
drugs.
§16-2L-3. Physician to file report.
(a) A physician shall file a written report with the State
Department of Health and Human Resources regarding each patient who
comes under the physician's professional care and requires medical
treatment or suffers death that the attending physician has a
reasonable basis to believe is a primary, secondary or tertiary
result of an induced abortion.
(b) These reports shall be submitted within thirty days of
the discharge or death of the patient treated for the complication.
(c) The department shall summarize aggregate data from the
reports required under this section for purposes of inclusion into
the annual vital statistics report.
(d) The department shall develop and distribute or make
available online in a downloadable format a standardized form for the report required under this section.
(e) The department shall communicate this reporting
requirement to all medical professional organizations, licensed
physicians, hospitals, emergency rooms, abortion facilities and
ambulatory surgical facilities operating in the state.
(f) The department shall destroy each individual report
required by this section and each copy of the report after
retaining the report for five years after the date the report is
received.
(g) The report required under this section may not contain the
name of the woman, common identifiers such as her social security
number or motor vehicle operator's license number or other
information or identifiers that would make it possible to identify
in any manner or under any circumstances an individual who has
obtained or seeks to obtain an abortion. A state agency may not
compare data in an electronic or other information system file with
data in another electronic or other information system that would
result in identifying in any manner or under any circumstances an
individual obtaining or seeking to obtain an abortion. Statistical
information that may reveal the identity of a woman obtaining or
seeking to obtain an abortion may not be maintained.
(h) The department or an employee of the department may not
disclose to a person or entity outside the department the reports or the contents of the reports required under this section in a
manner or fashion as to permit the person or entity to whom the
report is disclosed to identify in any way the person who is the
subject of the report.
(i) Any person who discloses confidential identifying
information in violation of this section is guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $5,000
or
imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not more than three
years, or both fined and imprisoned.
§16-2L-4. Information to be included in report.
(a) Each report of medical treatment following abortion
required under section four of this article shall contain the
following information:
(1) The age and race of the patient;
(2) The characteristics of the patient, including residency
status, county of residence, marital status, education, number of
previous pregnancies, number of stillbirths, number of living
children and number of previous abortions;
(3) The date the abortion was performed and the method used if
known;
(4) The type of facility where the abortion was performed;
(5) The condition of the patient that led to treatment,
including, but not limited to, pelvic infection, hemorrhage, damage to pelvic organs, renal failure, metabolic disorder, shock,
embolism, coma or death; and
(6) The amount billed to cover the treatment of the
complication, including whether the treatment was billed to
Medicaid, insurance, private pay or other method. This should
include charges for physician, hospital, emergency room,
prescription or other drugs, laboratory tests and any other costs
for the treatment rendered.
(b) Nothing in this article may be construed as an instruction
to discontinue collecting data currently being collected.
§16-2L-5. Criminal penalties.
Willful violation of the provisions of this article is a
misdemeanor and, punishable by a fine of $100, except that
disclosure of confidential identifying information is a felony,
punishable by imprisonment in a state correctional facility for not
more than three years, or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both
fine and imprisonment. A physician or hospital, its officers,
employees or medical and nursing personnel practicing in the
hospital is not civilly liable for violation of the provisions of
this article, except to the extent of liability for actual damages
in a civil action for willful or reckless and wanton acts or
omissions constituting that violation. However, that liability is
subject to any immunities or limitations of liability or damages provided by law.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require physicians to
file regular reports with the Department of Health and Human
Resources, regarding patients who require medical treatment as a
result of an abortion; providing criminal penalties for violation.
This article is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.