BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1860
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 10, 2002

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                              Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                 AB 1860 (Migden) - As Introduced:  January 31, 2002 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  5-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          As proposed to be amended, this bill requires that emergency  
          contraception (EC) be dispensed - if so requested - to female  
          victims of sexual assault by emergency rooms that provide rape  
          services.    
           
           FISCAL EFFECT
           
          Based on 9,785 rapes reported in 2000, if half of these cases  
          requested EC, at a cost of about $24 per person, the annual cost  
          would be about $120,000. These costs are state-reimbursable,  
          though the bill - as proposed to be amended - specifies that the  
          cost of the EC medication is to be assumed by insurance carriers  
          or any public assistance to which the victim is entitled.  

           COMMENTS
            
          1)Rationale  . According to the author, about one in 10 women who  
            are sexually assaulted will become pregnant by an attacker.   
            About half of these pregnancies end in abortion. This bill  
            requires that EC - not abortifacients - be made available in  
            emergency rooms that provide services to rape victims.  EC can  
            safely prevent pregnancy within 72 hours after a rape and can  
            reduce the risk of pregnancy by as much as 95%.  Proponents  
            note many hospitals do not provide information about, or  
            access to, emergency contraception, even to women requesting  
            it.

           2)Current law  requires the protocol for the examination and  
            treatment of victims of sexual assault, attempted sexual  
            assault, and child molestation include the following:








                                                                  AB 1860
                                                                  Page  2


             a)   Obtaining consent for examination and treatment of  
               injuries, collection of evidence, and photographing of  
               injuries;

             b)   Taking a patient history of sexual assault and other  
               relevant medical history;

             c)   Setting forth procedures for the preservation and  
               disposition of physical evidence.   

             d)   A baseline gonorrhea culture, syphilis serology, and  
               specimens for a pregnancy test if indicated by the history  
               of contact.   
           
          3)Amendments  . The author will propose amendments to specify that  
            the cost of the EC be covered by insurance - private or public  
            - whenever possible, as well as amendments deleting the  
            requirement that the hospital provide counseling regarding the  
            risk of pregnancy and options for post-coital contraception.  

           4)Related Legislation  :  SB 1169 (Alpert), Statutes of 2001,  
            authorizes pharmacists to initiate EC therapy in accordance  
            with standardized procedures or protocols developed by the  
            pharmacist and an authorized prescriber.  



            

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081