Bill Text: AZ HB2681 | 2025 | Fifty-seventh Legislature 1st Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Abortion-inducing drugs; requirements
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 18-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-29 - Assigned to House RULES Committee [HB2681 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2025-HB2681-Introduced.html
|
REFERENCE TITLE: abortion-inducing drugs; requirements |
|
State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session 2025
|
|
HB 2681 |
|
|
|
Introduced by Representatives Keshel: Biasiucci, Blackman, Chaplik, Diaz, Fink, Gillette, Griffin, Heap, Kolodin, Kupper, Marshall, Martinez, Olson, Peņa, Pingerelli, Powell, Willoughby
|
AN ACT
Amending section 36-2160, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to abortion.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 36-2160, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
36-2160. Abortion-inducing drugs; physician requirements; violation; civil relief; confidentiality; definition
A. An abortion-inducing drug may be provided only by a qualified physician in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. A qualified physician who provides an abortion-inducing drug shall examine the patient in person and, before providing an abortion-inducing drug, shall do all of the following:
1. Independently verify that a pregnancy exists.
2. Determine the patient's blood type, and, if the patient is Rh negative, offer to administer RhoGAM at the time of the abortion or, if the age of the unborn child is less than twelve weeks' gestation and the patient's blood type is unknown, inform the patient of the risks of not having the Rh testing.
3. In addition to the requirements of section 36-2153, inform the patient of possible physical and psychological aftereffects and side effects associated with the ingestion of an abortion-inducing drug, including that the patient may experience bleeding, pain and nausea and may see the remains of the unborn child in the process of completing the abortion.
4. Document in the patient's medical chart the gestational age and intrauterine location of the pregnancy, as diagnosed by the most accurate standard of medical care, and whether the patient was offered and received treatment for Rh negativity.
B. A qualified physician who provides an abortion-inducing drug must be credentialed and competent to handle complication management, including emergency transfers, or must have a signed agreement with an associated physician who is credentialed to handle complications. The qualified physician must be able to produce the signed agreement on demand by the patient or the department. The qualified physician who provides an abortion-inducing drug to a patient shall provide the patient with the name and telephone number of the associated physician.
C. A qualified physician who provides an abortion-inducing drug or an agent of the qualified physician shall schedule a follow-up visit for the patient that is approximately seven to fourteen days after the abortion-inducing drug is administered to confirm that the pregnancy is completely terminated and to assess the degree of bleeding. The qualified physician shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the patient returns for the scheduled appointment. A brief description of the efforts made to comply with this subsection, including the date, time and identification by name of the individual making the efforts, must be included in the patient's medical record.
B. D. A manufacturer, supplier or physician or any other person is prohibited from providing an abortion-inducing drug via by courier, delivery or mail service.
C. E. This section does not apply to drugs that may be known to cause an abortion but that are prescribed for other medical indications.
F. Any of the following has a claim against a person who intentionally or recklessly violates this section:
1. A woman to whom an abortion-inducing drug was given in violation of this section.
2. If the abortion-inducing drug was given to a minor, the minor's parent or guardian.
3. The father of the unborn child aborted as the result of an abortion-inducing drug given in violation of this section, unless the pregnancy of the person to whom the abortion-inducing drug was given was the result of a sexual assault and the violation was committed by the father.
G. A civil action filed pursuant to subsection F of this section shall be brought in the superior court in the county in which the woman on whom the abortion was performed resides. Relief pursuant to subsection F of this section includes the following:
1. Money damages for all psychological, emotional and physical injuries resulting from the violation of this section.
2. Statutory damages in an amount equal to $5,000.
3. Reasonable attorney fees and costs.
H. In each proceeding brought under subsection F of this section, the court, on motion or sua sponte, shall rule whether the identity of any woman on whom an abortion was induced or attempted to be induced must be kept confidential unless the woman waives confidentiality. If the court determines that a woman's identity should be kept confidential, the court shall issue orders to the parties, witnesses and counsel and shall direct the sealing of the record and exclusion of individuals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to the extent necessary to safeguard the woman's identity from public disclosure. If the court issues an order to keep a woman's identity confidential, the court shall provide written findings explaining why the woman's identity should be kept confidential, why the order is essential to that end, how the order is narrowly tailored to its purpose and why no reasonable less-restrictive alternative exists.
I. Any person who brings an action under subsection F of this section shall do so under a pseudonym unless the person obtains the written consent of the woman on whom an abortion was induced or attempted to be induced in violation of this section. This subsection and subsection H of this section may not be construed to allow the identity of a plaintiff or a witness to be concealed from the defendant.
D. J. For the purposes of this section, "abortion-inducing drug" means a medicine or drug or any other substance used for a medication abortion.
Sec. 2. Legislative findings
The legislature finds that requirements for physicians who provide abortion-inducing drugs are necessary because:
1. The failure and complication rates from a chemical abortion increase with advancing gestational age.
2. The physical symptoms of chemical abortion can be identical to the symptoms of ectopic pregnancy, and abortion-inducing drugs do not treat ectopic pregnancies and are contraindicated in ectopic pregnancies.
3. Rh testing is a long-standing, clinically accepted protocol for identifying and prophylactically controlling potentially serious risks to the health of the pregnant woman.
4. Pregnant women who are considering an abortion have a right to receive factual information concerning the potential aftereffects and side effects of ingesting abortion-inducing drugs.
5. The official label approved by the United States food and drug administration for the most commonly used abortion-inducing drug warns that bleeding and cramping are expected consequences and advises that physicians should discuss with patients the circumstances attendant to the unborn child's expulsion.
6. Requiring physicians who provide chemical abortions to offer patients medically appropriate tests and to disclose medically material facts safeguards the health and safety of pregnant women and enables these women to make an informed and autonomous decision whether to pursue a chemical abortion.
Sec. 3. Statutory construction
This act does not create or recognize a right to abortion or make lawful an abortion that is otherwise unlawful.
Sec. 4. Severability
If a provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.
