HB 2599 - DIGEST

Provides that no abortion shall be performed or induced except with the voluntary and informed consent of the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed or induced.

Declares that, except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed if and only if at least twenty-four hours before the abortion, the physician who is to perform the abortion or the referring physician has orally informed the woman of: (1) The nature of the proposed procedure or treatment and of those risks and alternatives to the procedure or treatment that a reasonable patient would consider material to the decision of whether or not to undergo the abortion;

(2) The probable gestational age of the unborn child at the time the abortion is to be performed; and

(3) The medical risks associated with carrying her child to term.