Maine Law Amending Informed Consent Requirements (LD 760)

LD 760 would have amended existing law which requires the attending physician of a woman seeking an abortion to obtain the informed written consent of the woman and requires specific information, such as the number of weeks elapsed from the time of conception, the risks associated with the abortion and, at the woman’s request, alternatives to abortion.

This bill would have required that the information be conveyed to the woman orally and in writing. It also would have removed the requirement that the woman request information about alternatives to abortion and would have required that information about alternatives to abortion to be conveyed, including the name of the physician performing the abortion, scientifically accurate information about the fetus, the woman’s right to see an ultrasound if an ultrasound was taken and the woman requests to see it, and the father’s liability for support.

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