Montana Code 50-20-304. Publication of materials
50-20-304. Publication of materials. (1) The department shall publish and annually update easily comprehensible printed, unbiased materials that are geographically indexed and designed to inform women of public and private agencies and services available to assist a woman through pregnancy, during childbirth, and while a woman’s child is dependent. The materials must:
Terms Used In Montana Code 50-20-304
- Abortion: means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance or device to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus. See Montana Code 50-20-104
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 50-20-104
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Facility: means a hospital, health care facility, physician's office, or other place in which an abortion is performed. See Montana Code 50-20-104
- Informed consent: means voluntary consent to an abortion by the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed only after full disclosure to the woman by:
(a)the physician who is to perform the abortion of the following information:
(i)the particular medical risks associated with the particular abortion procedure to be employed, including, when medically accurate, the risks of infection, hemorrhage, breast cancer, danger to subsequent pregnancies, and infertility;
(ii)the probable gestational age of the unborn child at the time the abortion is to be performed; and
(iii)the medical risks of carrying the child to term;
(b)the physician or an agent of the physician:
(i)that medical assistance benefits may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care;
(ii)that the father is liable to assist in the support of the child, even in instances in which the father has offered to pay for the abortion; and
(iii)that the woman has the right to review the printed materials described in 50-20-304; and
(c)the physician or the agent that the printed materials described in 50-20-304 have been provided by the department and that the materials describe the unborn child and list agencies that offer alternatives to abortion. See Montana Code 50-20-104
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Physician: means a person licensed to practice medicine under Title 37, chapter 3. See Montana Code 50-20-303
- pregnancy: means that female reproductive condition of having an unborn child in the woman's body. See Montana Code 50-20-303
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Unborn child: means the offspring of human beings from conception until birth. See Montana Code 50-20-303
(a)include adoption agencies;
(b)include a comprehensive list of the agencies, a description of the services offered, and the telephone numbers and addresses of the agencies;
(c)inform a woman about medical assistance benefits for prenatal care, childbirth, neonatal care, and child support obligations of a father of a child.
(2)The department shall ensure that the materials described in this section are comprehensive and do not directly or indirectly promote, exclude, or discourage the use of any agency or service. The materials must include a toll-free, 24-hour telephone number that may be called to orally obtain a list and description of agencies in the locality of the caller and of the services offered by the agencies.
(3)The materials must state that:
(a)it is unlawful for any individual to coerce a woman to undergo or not to undergo an abortion;
(b)a physician who performs an abortion on a woman without the woman’s informed consent may be liable to the woman for damages in a civil action; and
(c)the law allows adoptive parents to pay the costs of prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care.
(4)The materials must inform the pregnant woman of the probable anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child at 2-week gestational increments from fertilization to full term, including pictures or drawings representing the development of unborn children at 2-week gestational increments. The pictures or drawings must contain the dimensions of the unborn child and must be realistic. The materials must include any relevant information on the possibility of the unborn child’s survival at each stage depicted. The materials must be objective, nonjudgmental, and designed to convey only accurate scientific information about the unborn child at the various gestational ages. The materials must contain objective information describing the methods of abortion procedures commonly employed, the medical risks commonly associated with each procedure, the possible detrimental psychological effects of abortion, the possible detrimental psychological effects of adoption, and the medical risks associated with carrying a child to term.
(5)The materials must be printed in a clearly legible typeface.
(6)The materials required to be produced under this section must be provided at no cost upon request and must be provided in appropriate quantities to any person, facility, or hospital.