H-792                _______________________________________________

 

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 824

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Hargrove, Day, Smitherman, Bristow, Gallagher, Sutherland, Sayan, Basich, Haugen, L. Smith, Dobbs, Padden, Fuhrman, Chandler, van Dyke, Hastings, Patrick, Barrett, B. Williams, Isaacson, Tilly, Crane, J. Williams, Bond, Walker and  Van Luven

 

 

Read first time 2/8/85 and referred to Committee on Social & Health Services.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to abortion; and adding a new section to chapter 9.02 RCW.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 9.02 RCW to read as follows:

          (1)  No physician may perform an abortion unless, prior to such performance, the physician certifies in writing that the woman gave her informed consent, freely and without coercion, after the attending physician had informed the woman of information contained in subsection (2) of this section.

          (2)  In order to insure that consent for an abortion is truly informed consent, the attending physician shall inform the woman in a manner which, in his professional judgment, is not misleading and which will be understood by the patient of the following:

          (a)  According to the best judgment of her attending physician, she is pregnant;

          (b)  The number of weeks elapsed from the probable time of the conception of her unborn child, based upon the information provided by her as to the time of her last menstrual period and after a history and physical examination and appropriate laboratory tests;

          (c)  The anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child at the time that the abortion is to be performed;

          (d)  The immediate and long-term physical dangers of the abortion procedure;

          (e)  The particular risks associated with her pregnancy and the abortion technique to be performed;

          (f)  Alternatives to abortion such as child birth and adoption and information concerning public and private agencies that will assist with those alternatives.

          (3)  In addition, the physician may inform the woman of other material facts or opinions or provide an explanation of the information required by subsection (2) of this section which in the exercise of his best medical judgment is reasonably necessary to allow the woman to give her informed consent to the proposed abortion with full knowledge of its nature and consequences.