SENATE DOCKET, NO. 35 FILED ON: 1/10/2013
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 999
|
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Katherine M. Clark
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to responsible counseling.
_______________
PETITION OF:
Name: | District/Address: |
Katherine M. Clark | Fifth Middlesex |
William N. Brownsberger | Second Suffolk and Middlesex |
John W. Scibak | 2nd Hampshire |
Martha M. Walz | 8th Suffolk |
Jason M. Lewis | Fifth Middlesex |
Jennifer L. Flanagan | Worcester and Middlesex |
Michael J. Barrett | Third Middlesex |
Mary S. Keefe | 15th Worcester |
Kenneth J. Donnelly | Fourth Middlesex |
James B. Eldridge | Middlesex and Worcester |
Thomas P. Conroy | 13th Middlesex |
Denise Provost | 27th Middlesex |
Denise Andrews | 2nd Franklin |
Thomas J. Calter | 12th Plymouth |
Alice Hanlon Peisch | 14th Norfolk |
John F. Keenan | Norfolk and Plymouth |
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 35 FILED ON: 1/10/2013
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 999
By Ms. Clark, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 999) of Katherine M. Clark, William N. Brownsberger, John W. Scibak, Martha M. Walz and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to the responsible counseling of pregnant women. Public Health. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen
_______________
An Act relative to responsible counseling.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Section 12S of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out in the second paragraph the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sentences and inserting in place thereof the following:—
If a pregnant woman is less than eighteen years of age and has not married, no physician may perform an abortion upon her unless the attending physician has received and made part of the medical record the written consent of the pregnant woman and:
(1) the written consent of a parent, a legal guardian, a foster parent, or an adult family member twenty-five years of age or older; or
(2) the authorization of a judge of the superior court department of the trial court; or
(3) the written certification by an authorized individual that he has counseled the pregnant woman regarding alternative choices available to manage the pregnancy and the option of involving the woman's parents, guardians, or other adult family members in her decision-making.
An authorized individual shall be either a medical professional registered under section two, nine F, seventy-four, or seventy-four A of this chapter, or a mental health professional licensed under section one hundred nineteen or one hundred thirty-one of this chapter. The commissioner of public health shall prescribe a form for the authorized individual to use in certifying that he has provided counseling in accordance with this section. A family member shall be one of the pregnant woman’s grandparents or their lineal descendants, including those by adoption, and spouses of any such persons.