HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1390        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1784

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Jeffrey Rosario Turco

_________________

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 protecting women’s health; preserving maternal and unborn child life.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Jeffrey Rosario Turco

19th Suffolk

1/18/2023

Joseph D. McKenna

18th Worcester

1/18/2023

Kelly W. Pease

4th Hampden

1/31/2023


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1390        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1784

By Representative Turco of Winthrop, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1784) of Jeffrey Rosario Turco, Joseph D. McKenna and Kelly W. Pease relative to preserving maternal life and the life of unborn children in the performance of abortions or instances of miscarriages.  The Judiciary.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

_______________

 

An Act relative to protecting women’s health; preserving maternal and unborn child life.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 12N of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as so appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 12N, as amended by section 12N of chapter 263 of the Acts of 2020, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 12N. Protecting women’s health

Notwithstanding section 12L, for the purpose of preventing maternal death from abortion or miscarriage as pregnancy progresses, no physician may perform or induce, or attempt to perform or induce an abortion or cause a miscarriage on any female in a stage of pregnancy after the second trimester unless the following conditions are met: (a) the procedure is performed in a hospital and (b) the physician and two consulting physicians certify, and so enter in the hospital record of the female, that in their medical opinion, based upon their best clinical judgment, the continuation of the pregnancy is likely to result in the death of the female.

SECTION 2. Section 12O of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as so appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 12O, as amended by section 12O of chapter 263 of the Acts of 2020, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 12O. Preserving maternal life and life of unborn child

Notwithstanding section 12L, for the purpose of preserving maternal life and the life of an unborn child following abortion or miscarriage, if an abortion is performed or a miscarriage is caused pursuant to section 12N, the hospital where the procedure is performed shall provide life-saving measures and equipment, as defined by the department of public health, and the physician performing the abortion or causing the miscarriage shall employ the life-saving measures and equipment to preserve the life and health of the mother and to save the life of the unborn child, if the unborn child exhibits any clearly visible, audible, or otherwise discernable evidence of viability.