Utah Perinatal Hospice Bill (HB 107)

HB 107 would require that a pregnant patient receive information about perinatal hospice before an abortion when the fetus has been diagnosed with a lethal fetal anomaly.

The bill would amend current informed consent law to require a physician to inform the pregnant patient that perinatal hospice is available, is an alternative to abortion, and the patient has the right to review, “and should review,” the perinatal hospice information that the Department of Health provides.

HB 107 would require the Department of Health to include, in the information the department provides before an abortion, information regarding perinatal hospice.

The department would need to include a separate brochure that:

• presents perinatal hospice as the state’s preferred alternative to abortion of an “unborn child” diagnosed with a lethal fetal anomaly; and
• includes annually updated information regarding:
  • contact information for local perinatal hospice services, counseling assistance for medically challenging pregnancies, and grief counseling;
  • a list of websites for national perinatal hospice assistance; and
  • entities that provide perinatal hospice services free of charge, and medical assistance benefits that are commonly available for prenatal care, childbirth, and perinatal hospice.

Related Legislation

Based on model legislation drafted by Americans United for Life.

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People

Organizations

• Americans United for Life — Drafted Model Law