Louisiana Bill Regarding Minors Seeking Abortions (SB 111)

This law was last updated on Oct 23, 2017

State

Louisiana

Number

SB 111

Status

Current

Proposed

Apr 10, 2017

Topics

Parental Involvement, Reporting Requirements, Waiting Periods and Forced Counseling

Full Bill Text

www.legis.la.gov

SB 111 would amend current law regarding parental consent to require a physician or a person acting as an agent of a physician to obtain notarized consent of the parent or guardian that identifies such individual as the lawful parent or guardian, including a copy of a valid and unexpired driver’s license or a government issued identification card of the individual giving parental consent on behalf of the unemancipated minor.

Forced Counseling for Minors Seeking Court Waivers

Under current law, minors seeking a court waiver in order to obtain an abortion may be required to participate in an evaluation and counseling session with a mental health professional from either the Louisiana Department of Health, or a staff member from the Department of Children and Family Services.

This bill would provide that the court must require such participation from the minor. The bill would require counseling sessions to include verification that the minor is not a victim of coerced abortion.

Evaluation and counseling sessions would also be required to endeavor to ascertain whether the minor is pregnant as a result of sexual activity constituting a crime, or as a result of commercial sexual exploitation of the minor child.

Fraudulent Parental Consent

The bill provides for criminal penalties if a person giving parental consent is found guilty of unlawful production, manufacturing, distribution or possession of fraudulent documents for identification purposes.

Abortion clinic personnel who knowingly aid and abet a person who is not the mother, father, legal guardian, or tutor of a minor on whom an abortion was performed in the execution or acceptance of the parental consent requirements could face a $1,000 fine and up to two years in jail.

If passed, the law would take effect on August 1, 2017.

Reporting Requirements

The bill would require the following information to be included in abortion reports:

If the pregnant patient is a minor, a notation of whether the abortion was performed pursuant to either notarized parental consent or a judicial bypass order.

STATUS

Passed the senate on May 16, 2017, by a 29-6 vote.

Passed the house on June 1, 2017, by a 93-0 vote.

Signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) on June 12, 2017.