Bill Text: IA SF478 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the definition of person in the context of the victim of the crime of murder, and providing penalties.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 8)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-23 - Subcommittee, Horn, Petersen, and Zaun. S.J. 680. [SF478 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF478-Introduced.html

---

Senate File 478 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  SCHULTZ, BERTRAND,
                                     ANDERSON, BEHN, ZAUN,
                                     SEGEBART, SINCLAIR,
                                     and FEENSTRA

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the definition of person in the context of
  2    the victim of the crime of murder, and providing penalties.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 2469XS (4) 86
    pf/nh

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 135.1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code
  1  2 2015, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    For the purposes of chapter 155 and Title IV, subtitle 2,
  1  4 excluding chapter 146, unless otherwise defined:
  1  5    Sec. 2.  Section 135.11, subsections 10 and 12, Code 2015,
  1  6 are amended to read as follows:
  1  7    10.  Enforce the law relative to chapter 146 and
  1  8  "Health=related Professions", Title IV, subtitle 3, excluding
  1  9 chapter 155.
  1 10    12.  Establish, publish, and enforce rules not inconsistent
  1 11 with law for the enforcement of the provisions of chapters 125
  1 12 and 155, and Title IV, subtitle 2, excluding chapter 146 and
  1 13 for the enforcement of the various laws, the administration and
  1 14 supervision of which are imposed upon the department.
  1 15    Sec. 3.  Section 144.29A, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2015, are
  1 16 amended to read as follows:
  1 17    1.  A health care provider who initially identifies and
  1 18 diagnoses a spontaneous termination of pregnancy or who induces
  1 19 a termination of pregnancy shall file with the department
  1 20 a report for each termination within thirty days of the
  1 21 occurrence. The health care provider shall make a good faith
  1 22 effort to obtain all of the following information that is
  1 23 available with respect to each termination:
  1 24    a.  The confidential health care provider code as assigned
  1 25 by the department.
  1 26    b.  The report tracking number.
  1 27    c.  The maternal health services region of the Iowa
  1 28 department of public health, as designated as of July 1, 1997,
  1 29 in which the patient resides.
  1 30    d.  The race of the patient.
  1 31    e.  The age of the patient.
  1 32    f.  The marital status of the patient.
  1 33    g.  The educational level of the patient.
  1 34    h.  The number of previous pregnancies, live births, and
  1 35 spontaneous or induced terminations of pregnancies.
  2  1    i.  The month and year in which the termination occurred.
  2  2    j.  The number of weeks since the patient's last menstrual
  2  3 period and a clinical estimate of gestation.
  2  4    k.  The method used for an induced termination, including
  2  5 whether mifepristone was used.
  2  6    2.  It is the intent of the general assembly that the
  2  7 information shall be collected, reproduced, released, and
  2  8 disclosed in a manner specified by rule of the department,
  2  9 adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, which ensures the anonymity
  2 10 of the patient who experiences a termination of pregnancy,
  2 11 the health care provider who identifies and diagnoses or
  2 12 induces a termination of pregnancy, and the hospital, clinic,
  2 13 or other health facility in which a termination of pregnancy
  2 14 is identified and diagnosed or induced. The department may
  2 15 share information with federal public health officials for
  2 16 the purposes of securing federal funding or conducting public
  2 17 health research. However, in sharing the information, the
  2 18 department shall not relinquish control of the information,
  2 19 and any agreement entered into by the department with federal
  2 20 public health officials to share information shall prohibit the
  2 21 use, reproduction, release, or disclosure of the information
  2 22 by federal public health officials in a manner which violates
  2 23 this section. The department shall publish, annually, a
  2 24 demographic summary of the information obtained pursuant to
  2 25 this section, except that the department shall not reproduce,
  2 26 release, or disclose any information obtained pursuant to this
  2 27 section which reveals the identity of any patient, health care
  2 28 provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility, and shall
  2 29 ensure anonymity in the following ways:
  2 30    a.  The department may use information concerning the report
  2 31 tracking number or concerning the identity of a reporting
  2 32 health care provider, hospital, clinic, or other health
  2 33 facility only for purposes of information collection. The
  2 34 department shall not reproduce, release, or disclose this
  2 35 information for any purpose other than for use in annually
  3  1 publishing the demographic summary under this section.
  3  2    b.  The department shall enter the information, from
  3  3 any report of termination submitted, within thirty days of
  3  4 receipt of the report, and shall immediately destroy the
  3  5 report following entry of the information. However, entry of
  3  6 the information from a report shall not include any health
  3  7 care provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility
  3  8 identification information including, but not limited to, the
  3  9 confidential health care provider code, as assigned by the
  3 10 department.
  3 11    c.  To protect confidentiality, the department shall limit
  3 12 release of information to release in an aggregate form which
  3 13 prevents identification of any individual patient, health care
  3 14 provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility. For the
  3 15 purposes of this paragraph, "aggregate form" means a compilation
  3 16 of the information received by the department on termination
  3 17 of pregnancies for each information item listed, with the
  3 18 exceptions of the report tracking number, the health care
  3 19 provider code, and any set of information for which the amount
  3 20 is so small that the confidentiality of any person to whom the
  3 21 information relates may be compromised. The department shall
  3 22 establish a methodology to provide a statistically verifiable
  3 23 basis for any determination of the correct amount at which
  3 24 information may be released so that the confidentiality of any
  3 25 person is not compromised.
  3 26    Sec. 4.  Section 144.29A, subsection 7, paragraph b, Code
  3 27 2015, is amended by striking the paragraph.
  3 28    Sec. 5.  Section 216.6, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 2015,
  3 29 is amended by striking the paragraph.
  3 30    Sec. 6.  Section 216.13, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  3 31 follows:
  3 32    216.13  Exceptions for retirement plans, abortion coverage,
  3 33  life, disability, and health benefits.
  3 34    The provisions of this chapter relating to discrimination
  3 35 because of age do not apply to a retirement plan or benefit
  4  1 system of an employer unless the plan or system is a mere
  4  2 subterfuge adopted for the purpose of evading this chapter.
  4  3    1.  However, a retirement plan or benefit system shall not
  4  4 require the involuntary retirement of a person under the age of
  4  5 seventy because of that person's age. This paragraph does not
  4  6 prohibit the following:
  4  7    a.  The involuntary retirement of a person who has attained
  4  8 the age of sixty=five and has for the two prior years been
  4  9 employed in a bona fide executive or high policymaking position
  4 10 and who is entitled to an immediate, nonforfeitable annual
  4 11 retirement benefit from a pension, profit=sharing, savings,
  4 12 or deferred compensation plan of the employer which equals
  4 13 twenty=seven thousand dollars. This retirement benefit test
  4 14 may be adjusted according to the regulations prescribed by
  4 15 the United States secretary of labor pursuant to Pub. L. No.
  4 16 95=256, section 3.
  4 17    b.  The involuntary retirement of a person covered by a
  4 18 collective bargaining agreement which was entered into by a
  4 19 labor organization and was in effect on September 1, 1977.
  4 20 This exemption does not apply after the termination of that
  4 21 agreement or January 1, 1980, whichever first occurs.
  4 22    2.  A health insurance program provided by an employer may
  4 23 exclude coverage of abortion, except where the life of the
  4 24 mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or
  4 25 where medical complications have arisen from an abortion.
  4 26    3.  2.  An employee welfare plan may provide life, disability
  4 27 or health insurance benefits which vary by age based on
  4 28 actuarial differences if the employer contributes equally for
  4 29 all the participating employees or may provide for employer
  4 30 contributions differing by age if the benefits for all the
  4 31 participating employees do not vary by age.
  4 32    Sec. 7.  Section 602.8102, subsection 31, Code 2015, is
  4 33 amended by striking the subsection.
  4 34    Sec. 8.  Section 707.1, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  4 35 follows:
  5  1    707.1  Murder defined.
  5  2    1.  A person who kills another person with malice
  5  3 aforethought either express or implied commits murder.
  5  4    2.  "Person", when referring to the victim of a murder,
  5  5 means an individual human being, without regard to age of
  5  6 development, from the moment of conception, when a zygote is
  5  7 formed, until natural death.
  5  8    3.  Murder includes killing another person through any
  5  9 means that terminates the life of the other person including
  5 10 but not limited to the use of abortion=inducing drugs.  For
  5 11 the purposes of this section, "abortion=inducing drug" means a
  5 12 medicine, drug, or any other substance prescribed or dispensed
  5 13 with the intent of terminating the clinically diagnosable
  5 14 pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the drug will
  5 15 with reasonable likelihood cause the termination of the
  5 16 pregnancy.  "Abortion=inducing drug" includes the off=label
  5 17 use of drugs known to have abortion=inducing properties,
  5 18 which are prescribed specifically with the intent of causing
  5 19 an abortion, but does not include drugs that may be known to
  5 20 cause an abortion, but which are prescribed for other medical
  5 21 indications.
  5 22    4.  Murder does not include a fetal death as defined in
  5 23 section 144.1 or the spontaneous termination of pregnancy as
  5 24 defined in section 144.29A.
  5 25    Sec. 9.  REPEAL.  Sections 232.5, 702.20, 707.7, 707.8,
  5 26 707.8A, 707.9, and 707.10, Code 2015, are repealed.
  5 27    Sec. 10.  REPEAL.  Chapters 135L and 146, Code 2015, are
  5 28 repealed.
  5 29    Sec. 11.  SEVERABILITY.  If any provision of this Act or
  5 30 the application of this Act to any person or circumstances is
  5 31 held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions
  5 32 or applications of the Act which can be given effect without
  5 33 the invalid provisions or application and, to this end, the
  5 34 provisions of this Act are severable.
  5 35    Sec. 12.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed
  6  1 of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
  6  2                           EXPLANATION
  6  3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  6  4 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  6  5    This bill defines "person" in the context of the victim of
  6  6 the crime of murder to be an individual human being without
  6  7 regard to age of development, from the moment of conception,
  6  8 when the zygote is formed, until natural death.
  6  9    The bill provides that murder includes killing another
  6 10 person through any means that terminates the life of
  6 11 the other person including but not limited to the use of
  6 12 abortion=inducing drugs, and defines "abortion=inducing drug".
  6 13    The bill also provides that murder does not include a fetal
  6 14 death as defined in Code section 144.1 or the spontaneous
  6 15 termination of pregnancy as defined in Code section 144.29A.
  6 16    The bill makes conforming changes throughout the Code to
  6 17 eliminate any reference to allowing abortions or terminations
  6 18 of pregnancy in keeping with the definition of "murder" under
  6 19 the bill.
  6 20    The bill amends the termination of pregnancy reporting
  6 21 section (Code section 144.29A) to only include the reporting of
  6 22 spontaneous terminations of pregnancy.
  6 23    The bill amends a Code section relating to unfair employment
  6 24 practices (Code section 216.6) to eliminate references to
  6 25 disabilities caused or contributed to by legal abortion.
  6 26    The bill amends a Code section relating to discrimination
  6 27 relating to health insurance abortion coverage (Code section
  6 28 216.13) to eliminate the reference to abortion coverage.
  6 29    The bill strikes and repeals Code provisions that relate
  6 30 to allowing abortions under certain circumstances.  The bill
  6 31 repeals Code section 232.5 (abortion performed on a minor ====
  6 32 waiver of notification proceedings), Code section 702.20 (the
  6 33 definition of "viability"), Code section 707.7 (feticide),
  6 34 Code section 707.8 (nonconsensual termination ==== serious
  6 35 injury to a human pregnancy), Code section 707.8A (partial
  7  1 birth abortion), Code section 707.9 (murder of a fetus aborted
  7  2 alive), Code section 707.10 (duty to preserve the life of the
  7  3 fetus), Code chapter 135L (notification requirements regarding
  7  4 pregnant minors), and Code chapter 146 (abortions ==== refusal
  7  5 to perform). The bill also makes conforming changes to strike
  7  6 references to Code provisions stricken or repealed in the bill.
  7  7    The bill provides for severability of any provision
  7  8 or application of the bill that is held invalid from the
  7  9 provisions or applications of the bill which can be given
  7 10 effect without the invalid provisions or application.  The bill
  7 11 takes effect upon enactment.
       LSB 2469XS (4) 86
       pf/nh