Washington Parental Notification of Abortion Act (SB 5289)

SB 5289 would require physicians to notify a parent or guardian of a minor seeking an abortion 48 hours prior to the procedure, unless there was a medical emergency.  The notice must be given directly, either in person or over the phone, by the referring physician.  If the physician can not reach the parent or guardian directly, they would be required to sent a notice via certified mail.

The bill allows minors seeking an abortion to petition any superior court for a waiver of the notice requirement.  If a court finds the woman to be sufficiently mature and well-informed, they may issue an order authorizing the pregnant minor to consent to the abortion.  This would also be the case if the court found the woman to be a victim of sexual abuse by her parent(s) or guardian.

Any physician that performs an abortion on a minor without seeking parental consent would be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

In addition, a monthly report indicating the number of notices issued, the number of times in which exceptions were made to the notice requirement, the type of exception, the patient’s age, and the number of prior pregnancies and prior abortions of the patient must be filed with the department of Health.  The department would then be required to provide an annual data report available to the public.

STATUS

Reintroduced and retained in present status on April 29, 2015 which means it will be live in the next legislative session.

SB 5289 is similar to HB 1493, except HB 1493 does not contain the reporting requirement.

 

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