BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1306
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Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
William W. Monning, Chair
AB 1306 (Donnelly) - As Amended: April 26, 2011
SUBJECT : Abortion.
SUMMARY : Requires a person authorized to perform an abortion to
provide information, as specified, to any woman seeking an
abortion in order to obtain her informed consent. Requires any
facility where an abortion is authorized to be performed and any
emergency room of a general acute care hospital, to post in
common areas, as specified, the telephone number of a nonprofit
organization that provides services in support of the
elimination of human trafficking. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires, prior to the performance of an abortion, the person
authorized to perform the abortion to provide complete and
full information on the potential physiological and
psychological impacts of an abortion, in both verbal and
written form, to any woman seeking an abortion in order to
obtain her informed consent to obtain the abortion during a
counseling session.
2)Permits only verified immediate relatives or legal guardians
of the woman seeking an abortion to join her in the counseling
room referenced in 1) above.
3)Requires any facility where an abortion is authorized to be
performed and the emergency room of a general acute care
hospital to post in common areas, including, but not limited
to, waiting rooms and restrooms, the National Human
Trafficking Resource Center's hotline telephone number.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Enumerates an inalienable right to privacy in the California
Constitution.
2)Provides for the performance of abortions under the
Therapeutic Abortion Act by licensed physicians or surgeons.
3)Authorizes disciplinary action against a licensed physician or
surgeon who participates in unprofessional conduct.
AB 1306
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4)Defines "unlawful sexual intercourse" as an act of sexual
intercourse (consensual or nonconsensual) accomplished with a
person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person
is a minor. For the purposes of this section, a "minor" is a
person under the age of 18 years and an "adult" is a person 18
years of age or older.
5)Provides that any person who engages in an act of unlawful
sexual intercourse with a minor who is not more than three
years older or three years younger than the perpetrator, is
guilty of misdemeanor statutory rape.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, this bill
creates opportunities for victims of sex trafficking to speak
openly with perhaps the only health care professionals they
will encounter while enslaved by requiring that informed
consent information for an abortion be provided in both
written and verbal form, as well as, specifying that only
verified relatives or legal guardians are allowed to accompany
patients during the information-relaying meeting. The author
maintains that this bill will keep captors, often posing as
"boyfriends" or "interpreters" from being allowed to
intimidate women during routine pre-operation counseling. The
author also argues that this bill corrects a deficiency,
identified by the Polaris Project, in California's response to
human trafficking by requiring signage with the human
trafficking hotline number to be posted in emergency rooms and
health care facilities that offer abortions.
2)SUPPORT . The California Catholic Conference, Inc. (CCC)
writes in support of this measure that many women report
regret following an abortion. CCC maintains that women may
not understand what the abortion procedure involves or they
may not be prepared for the emotional responses they may
encounter. CCC argues that, as a society, we are subjected ad
nauseam to a laundry list of possible adverse reactions to
every drug advertised on television, the least we can do for a
woman who is considering an abortion decision is to ensure
that she is fully informed on the possible "side effects" she
may suffer.
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3)OPPOSITION . The American Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
(PPAC), the California Commission on the Status of Women, the
California Family Health Council, Inc., the California Medical
Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of
California all write in opposition to this bill. The
opposition states that they understand and share the author's
interest in combatting human trafficking and slavery but
believe targeting abortion services is misguided. The
opposition maintains that not only would this bill intrude on
the physician/patient relationship and a woman's privacy by
limiting who can support her during counseling on abortion,
but the signage requirement to post the national human
trafficking hotline in any location where abortions may be
performed would be akin to providing a target list for
anti-abortion extremists. The opposition argues that they do
not find justification for this legislation. The opposition
maintains that California already has a long-standing common
law tradition of protecting patients' autonomy through
informed consent and states that many health centers are
actively involved in preventing human trafficking and slavery
and already provide information regarding resources in the
community. The opposition concludes that if the intent of
this bill is to increase awareness of human trafficking and to
provide help to victims of human trafficking, there are better
alternatives. The opposition asserts that there is an
enormous area of need for funding for ongoing training of
physicians, nurses, hospital personnel and affiliated staff on
human trafficking awareness and identification.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Catholic Conference
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District
IX, California
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Family Health Council
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California Medical Association
NARCAL Pro-Choice California
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Six Rivers Planned Parenthood
Analysis Prepared by : Tanya Robinson-Taylor / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097