H-1426.3 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1713
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State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995 Regular Session
By Representatives Ballasiotes, Costa, Dickerson, Kessler, Cody, Poulsen, Regala, Mastin and Chopp
Read first time 02/06/95. Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
AN ACT Relating to conducting emergency sexual assault examinations of child sexual assault victims without parental permission; adding a new section to chapter 7.69A RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that examinations of victims of sexual assault must be conducted within a few hours of the assault to gather evidence of the assault. Delaying examinations also causes physical and emotional trauma to the victim. When the victim is a minor, requiring parental permission before conducting the examination may result in loss of evidence. In several cases minors have refused to submit to examinations because a parent is the assailant. In other cases a relative or friend is the assailant and the minor fears the parent will be supportive of the assailant and either deny permission or blame the victim for the assault. In some cases, the victim is a ward of the state and several hours elapse before a guardian can be found to grant permission. The legislature finds that the state has a compelling interest in gathering evidence necessary to determine whether a child has been raped or sexually assaulted and in minimizing physical and emotional trauma to child victims of sexual assault.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 7.69A RCW to read as follows:
A minor who is a victim of a sexual assault may give consent to a medical examination conducted by professional medical personnel to gather evidence of the sexual assault. The minor's consent is not subject to disaffirmance because of minority. The consent of the parent, parents, or legal guardian of the minor is not necessary to authorize the sexual assault examination. If the minor consents to parental notification of the examination, the medical personnel must make a reasonable effort to contact the parent, parents, or legal guardian. If the effort is unsuccessful, the medical professional shall not delay the examination. The parent, parents, or legal guardian shall not be liable for payment for an examination conducted pursuant to this section. The costs of the examination shall be borne by the state as provided in RCW 7.68.170.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.
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