S-4352.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6540

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1996 Regular Session

By Senators Prentice and Owen

Read first time 01/17/96.  Referred to Committee on Health & Long‑Term Care.

Restricting the release of addicted infants from hospitals.

    AN ACT Relating to the release of addicted infants from hospitals; and adding a new section to chapter 18.71 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 18.71 RCW to read as follows:

    Except as provided under this section, it is unlawful for a physician to discharge from a hospital or other health care facility, any infant who must be put on a controlled substance in order to be detoxified as a result of his or her mother's prenatal drug use.  A physician may discharge such an infant to a facility that provides twenty-four-hour per day medical supervision or keep the infant in the hospital, until the infant has completed the withdrawal process and no longer requires a controlled substance for treatment.

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