STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 53rd Legislature (2011)

SENATE BILL 491	By:	Johnson (Constance)

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to emergency contraception for rape victims; creating the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies (CARE) Act; providing short title; defining terms; directing the State Department of Health and specific persons to develop certain informational materials; directing the Department to distribute informational materials to hospitals and health care facilities that provide medical care to rape victims; specifying requirements for the informational materials; specifying standard of care requirements for hospitals and health care facilities; directing the Department to investigate certain complaints; directing the Department to monitor compliance; providing penalties for noncompliance; authorizing the State Board of Health to promulgate certain rules; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2080 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies (CARE) Act”.
SECTION 2.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2080.1 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies (CARE) Act:
1.  “Emergency contraception” means any drug or device approved by the Food and Drug Administration that prevents pregnancy after sex;
2.  “Emergency care to rape victims” means medical examinations, procedures, or services provided at a hospital or other health care facility to rape victims following an alleged rape;
3.  “Rape” shall have the same meaning as defined in Sections 1111, 1111.1 and 1114 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
4.  “Medically and factually accurate and objective” means verified or supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and:
a.	published in peer-reviewed journals where applicable, or
b.	comprising information that leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant expertise in the field, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), recognize as accurate and objective.
SECTION 3.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2080.2 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The State Department of Health or a contracted designee, in collaboration with community sexual assault programs and other relevant persons, shall produce informational materials relating to emergency contraception for the prevention of pregnancy.  These informational materials shall be distributed to and used in all hospitals and other health care facilities in the state that provide medical care to rape victims.
B.  The informational materials shall:
1.  Be medically and factually accurate and objective;
2.  Be clearly written and readily comprehensible in a culturally competent manner, as the Department, in collaboration with community sexual assault programs and other relevant persons, deems necessary to inform victims of rape; and
3.  Explain the nature of emergency contraception, including its use, safety, efficacy, and availability, and that it does not cause abortion.
SECTION 4.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2080.3 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  It shall be the standard of care for hospitals and other health care facilities which provide medical care to rape victims to:
1.  Provide each rape victim with medically and factually accurate and objective written and oral information about emergency contraception, prepared pursuant to Section 3 of this act;
2.  Orally inform each rape victim of her option to be provided emergency contraception at the hospital or other health care facility; and
3.  Provide the complete regimen of emergency contraception immediately at the hospital or at another health care facility if the hospital is subject to moral prohibition against the provision of birth control.
B.  Each hospital or other health care facility which provides medical care to rape victims shall ensure that each person who provides medical care to rape victims is provided with medically and factually accurate and objective information about emergency contraception.
SECTION 5.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2080.4 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The State Department of Health shall investigate complaints of noncompliance with the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies (CARE) Act, and shall periodically provide medical care to rape victims to monitor compliance.
B.  If the Department determines that a hospital or other health care facility is not in compliance with this act, the Department shall impose an administrative fine up to Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for each incidence of noncompliance.
SECTION 6.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2080.5 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
The State Board of Health is authorized to promulgate rules as necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
SECTION 7.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2011.

53-1-1151	JM	1/19/2011 9:20:11 AM