Kentucky Ultrasound Bill with State-Run info Website (HB 575)

HB 575 would have required physicians to perform an obstetric ultrasound prior to an abortion and before the patient can give her informed written consent. The bill provides that during the ultrasound the physician must display the ultrasound images so the patient “may” view them, verbally confirm the presence and location of the fetus, determine the gestational age, and determine the presence of heartbeat. Under this law, the physician would have been required to offer a copy of the ultrasound image to the patient and keep an additional copy with the patient’s medical records.

The bill states that if a physician fails to perform an ultrasound, provided it is not a medical emergency, they risk a civil suit for medical malpractice.

This bill would have required the Cabinet for Health and Human Services to provide various pregnancy-related materials and abortion information on a stable Internet website. The bill also would have required any Kentucky abortion provider that has a website to post on its homepage prominent web links to the information posted on the Cabinet for Health and Human Services.

HB 575 would also have amended previous law to provide criminal penalties against physicians.  These include: penalties for performing partial-birth abortions, performing an abortion on a married woman without notifying the spouse of the patient, and performing an abortion for an unemancipated minor.  A violation of law would have been anywhere from a Class A to a Class D misdemeanor.

STATUS

Referred to the the Health and Welfare Committee.  Died in committee.

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