Bill Text: IL SB1914 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Ultrasound Opportunity Act. Sets forth legislative findings and definitions. Provides that at any facility where abortions are performed, the physician who is to perform the abortion, the referring physician, or another qualified person working in conjunction with either physician shall offer any woman seeking an abortion after 8 weeks of gestation an opportunity to receive and view an active ultrasound of her unborn child by someone qualified to perform ultrasounds at the facility, or at a facility listed in a listing of local ultrasound providers provided by the facility, prior to the woman having any part of an abortion performed or induced and prior to the administration of any anesthesia or medication in preparation for the abortion. Provides that the requirements of the Act shall not apply when, in the medical judgment of the physician performing or inducing the abortion, there exists a medical emergency. Contains a severability provision. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 11-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-14 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Napoleon Harris, III [SB1914 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1914-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB1914 Introduced 2/9/2023, by Sen. Terri Bryant SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Ultrasound Opportunity Act. Sets forth legislative findings and definitions. Provides that at any facility where abortions are performed, the physician who is to perform the abortion, the referring physician, or another qualified person working in conjunction with either physician shall offer any woman seeking an abortion after 8 weeks of gestation an opportunity to receive and view an active ultrasound of her unborn child by someone qualified to perform ultrasounds at the facility, or at a facility listed in a listing of local ultrasound providers provided by the facility, prior to the woman having any part of an abortion performed or induced and prior to the administration of any anesthesia or medication in preparation for the abortion. Provides that the requirements of the Act shall not apply when, in the medical judgment of the physician performing or inducing the abortion, there exists a medical emergency. Contains a severability provision. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning public health.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Ultrasound Opportunity Act.
Section 5. Legislative findings and purpose.
(a) The General Assembly finds as follows:
(1) Ultrasound requirements serve an essential medical
purpose in confirming the presence, location, and
gestational age of a pregnancy.
(2) Ultrasound requirements also serve an essential
medical purpose in diagnosing ectopic pregnancies, which,
if left undiagnosed, can result in infertility or even
fatal blood loss.
(3) Furthermore, it is critical to the psychological
and physical well-being of a woman considering an abortion
that she receive complete and accurate information on the
reality and status of her pregnancy and of her unborn
child.
(4) The decision to abort "is an important, and often
a stressful one, and it is desirable and imperative that
it be made with full knowledge of its nature and
consequences". Planned Parenthood v. Danforth, 428 U.S.

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52, 67 (1976).
(b) Based on the findings in subsection (a) of this
Section, the purposes of this Act are to:
(1) protect the physical health and welfare of every
woman considering an abortion;
(2) ensure that every woman considering an abortion
receive complete information on the reality and status of
her pregnancy and of her unborn child and that every woman
submitting to an abortion do so only after giving her
voluntary and informed consent to the abortion procedure;
(3) protect the unborn child from a woman's uninformed
decision to have an abortion; and
(4) reduce "the risk that a woman may elect an
abortion, only to discover later, with devastating
psychological consequences, that her decision was not
fully informed". Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S.
833, 882 (1992).
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
language or context clearly indicates a different meaning is
intended:
"Abortion" means the use of any instrument, medicine,
drug, or any other substance or device to terminate the
pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention
other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to
preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or

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to remove a dead fetus.
"Medical emergency" means a condition that, on the basis
of the physician's good faith clinical judgment, so
complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to
necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert
her death or for which a delay will create serious risk of
substantial and irreversible impairment of major bodily
function.
"Physician" means any person licensed to practice medicine
in all its branches under the Medical Practice Act of 1987.
"Qualified person" means a person having documented
evidence that he or she has completed a course in the operation
of ultrasound equipment and is in compliance with any other
requirements of law regarding the operation of ultrasound
equipment.
Section 15. Offer of ultrasound required.
(a) At any facility where abortions are performed, the
physician who is to perform the abortion, the referring
physician, or another qualified person working in conjunction
with either physician shall offer any woman seeking an
abortion after 8 weeks of gestation an opportunity to receive
and view an active ultrasound of her unborn child by someone
qualified to perform ultrasounds at the facility, or at a
facility listed in a listing of local ultrasound providers
provided by the facility, prior to the woman having any part of

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an abortion performed or induced, and prior to the
administration of any anesthesia or medication in preparation
for the abortion.
(b) The ultrasound shall be performed by a qualified
person or persons. The active ultrasound image must be of a
quality consistent with standard medical practice. The woman's
response to the offer must be documented by the facility,
including the date and time of the offer and the woman's
signature attesting to her informed decision to accept or
decline the offer.
Section 20. Medical emergency. The requirements under this
Act shall not apply when, in the medical judgment of the
physician performing or inducing the abortion based on the
particular facts of the case before him or her, there exists a
medical emergency.
Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.