Bill Text: IA SF26 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act establishing a civil cause of action for physical injury or emotional distress resulting from an abortion.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-18 - Subcommittee recommends amendment and passage. [SF26 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF26-Introduced.html

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Senate File 26 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  CHELGREN

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act establishing a civil cause of action for physical injury
  2    or emotional distress resulting from an abortion.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 1158XS (3) 87
    pf/nh

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  686.1  Cause of action ==== abortion
  1  2 resulting in emotional distress.
  1  3    1.  A woman upon whom an abortion has been performed may
  1  4 maintain a cause of action against the physician who performed
  1  5 the abortion to recover damages for any emotional distress,
  1  6 whether or not independent of the physical injury, proximately
  1  7 caused as the result of the physician's negligence or failure
  1  8 to obtain informed consent prior to performance of the
  1  9 abortion.
  1 10    2.  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary regarding
  1 11 limitations of actions, an action under this section may be
  1 12 brought at any time during the lifetime of the woman.
  1 13    3.  The signing of a consent form by the woman prior to the
  1 14 abortion shall not negate the cause of action, but may reduce
  1 15 the recovery of damages to the extent that the content of the
  1 16 consent form informed the woman of the risk of the type of
  1 17 injuries for which the woman is seeking damages.
  1 18    4.  This section shall not be construed to render any other
  1 19 statutory or common law cause of action for medical malpractice
  1 20 otherwise available inapplicable to abortion procedures or
  1 21 diminish the nature or the extent of those causes of action.
  1 22 The cause of action expressly specified in this section is in
  1 23 addition to any other statutory or common law cause of action.
  1 24    5.  A cause of action shall not be brought under this section
  1 25 if the abortion was performed due to a medical emergency.
  1 26    6.  For the purposes of this section:
  1 27    a.  "Abortion" means abortion as defined in section 146.1.
  1 28    b.  "Damages" means all special and general damages which
  1 29 are recoverable in tort for injuries incurred by the woman
  1 30 including but not limited to actual and punitive damages.
  1 31    c.  "Emotional distress"  means a severe, debilitating, and
  1 32 persistent negative emotional or mental reaction including
  1 33 but not limited to mental anguish, fright, nervousness,
  1 34 grief, anxiety, worry, mortification, shock, humiliation, and
  1 35 indignity, as well as physical pain.
  2  1    d.  "Informed consent" means the duty of a physician to
  2  2 disclose all facts about the nature of the procedure, the risks
  2  3 of the procedure, and the alternatives to the procedure that a
  2  4 reasonable patient would consider significant to the patient's
  2  5 decision to undergo or forego an abortion.
  2  6    e.  "Medical emergency" means any condition which, on the
  2  7 basis of the physician's good faith clinical judgment, so
  2  8 complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to
  2  9 necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert
  2 10 her death or for which a delay will create serious risk of
  2 11 substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily
  2 12 function.
  2 13                           EXPLANATION
  2 14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 15 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 16    This bill establishes a cause of action that may be
  2 17 maintained by a woman upon whom an abortion has been performed
  2 18 against the physician who performed the abortion to recover
  2 19 damages for any emotional distress, whether or not independent
  2 20 of a physical injury, proximately caused as the result of the
  2 21 physician's negligence or failure to obtain informed consent
  2 22 prior to performance of the abortion.  The action may be
  2 23 brought at any time during the lifetime of the woman.  The
  2 24 bill provides that the signing of a consent form by the woman
  2 25 prior to the abortion does not negate the cause of action,
  2 26 but may reduce the recovery of damages to the extent that the
  2 27 content of the consent form informed the woman of the risk of
  2 28 the type of injuries for which the woman is seeking damages.
  2 29 The bill also provides that other existing  statutory or common
  2 30 law causes of action for medical malpractice are not to be
  2 31 construed to be rendered inapplicable to abortion procedures or
  2 32 diminish the nature or the extent of those causes of action.
  2 33 The cause of action expressly specified in the bill is in
  2 34 addition to any other statutory or common law cause of action.
  2 35 A cause of action is prohibited under the bill if the abortion
  3  1 was performed due to a medical emergency.
  3  2    The bill defines "abortion", "damages", "emotional
  3  3 distress", "informed consent", and "medical emergency" for the
  3  4 purposes of the bill.
       LSB 1158XS (3) 87
       pf/nh