1.     a.    All abortion facilities and hospitals in which abortions are performed shall keep records, including admission and discharge notes, histories, results of tests and examinations, nurses’ worksheets, social service records, and progress notes, and shall further keep a copy of all written certifications provided for in this chapter as well as a copy of the constructive notice forms, consent forms, court orders, abortion data reports, adverse event reports, abortion compliance reports, and complication reports. All abortion facilities shall keep the following records:

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 14-02.1-07

(1) The number of women who availed themselves of the opportunity to receive and view an ultrasound image of their unborn children pursuant to section 14-02.1-04, and the number who did not; and of each of those numbers, the number who, to the best of the reporting abortion facility’s information and belief, went on to obtain the abortion.

(2) A record of the probable gestational age of the unborn child at the time of the abortion. If a probable gestational age of the unborn child was not made because of a medical emergency, the record must include the basis of the determination that a medical emergency existed.

b.    The medical records of abortion facilities and hospitals in which abortions are performed and all information contained therein must remain confidential and may be used by the department of health and human services only for gathering statistical data and ensuring compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

c.    Records must be maintained in the permanent files of the hospital or abortion facility for a period of not less than seven years.

2.     a.    An individual abortion compliance report and an individual abortion data report for each abortion performed upon a woman must be completed by her attending physician. The abortion data report must be confidential and may not contain the name of the woman. The abortion data report must include the data called for in the United States standard report of induced termination of pregnancy as recommended by the national center for health statistics and whether:

(1) The abortion was performed to prevent the death of the pregnant female; (2) The pregnancy resulted from gross sexual imposition, sexual imposition, sexual abuse of a ward, or incest, as those offenses are defined in chapter 12.1-20; or

(3) Necessary due to a medical emergency.

b.    All abortion compliance reports must be signed by the attending physician within twenty-four hours and submitted to the department of health and human services within ten business days from the date of the abortion. All abortion data and complication reports must be signed by the attending physician and submitted to the department of health and human services within thirty days from the date of the abortion. If a physician provides an abortion-inducing drug to another for the     purpose of inducing an abortion and the physician knows that the individual experiences during or after the use an adverse event, the physician shall provide a written report of the adverse event within thirty days of the event to the department of health and human services and the federal food and drug administration via the medwatch reporting system. For purposes of this section, “adverse event” is defined based upon the federal food and drug administration criteria given in the medwatch reporting system. If a determination of probable gestational age of the unborn child was not made, the abortion compliance report must state the basis of the determination that a medical emergency existed.

c.    A copy of the abortion report, any complication report, and any adverse event report must be made a part of the medical record of the patient at the facility or hospital in which the abortion was performed. In cases when post-abortion complications are discovered, diagnosed, or treated by physicians not associated with the facility or hospital where the abortion was performed, the department of health and human services shall forward a copy of the report to that facility or hospital to be made a part of the patient’s permanent record.

d.    The department of health and human services is responsible for collecting all abortion compliance reports, abortion data reports, complication reports, and adverse event reports and collating and evaluating all data gathered from these reports and shall annually publish a statistical report based on data from abortions performed in the previous calendar year. All abortion compliance reports received by the department of health and human services are public records. Except for disclosure to a law enforcement officer or state agency, the department may not disclose an abortion compliance report without first removing any individually identifiable health information and any other demographic information, including race, marital status, number of previous live births, and education regarding the woman upon whom the abortion was performed.

e.    The department of health and human services shall report to the attorney general any apparent violation of this chapter.