Utah Code 76-7-305.5. Requirements for information module and website

76-7-305.5. Requirements for information module and website.

(1)	In order to ensure that a woman’s consent to an abortion is truly an informed consent, the department shall, in accordance with the requirements of this section, develop an information module and maintain a public website.

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Terms Used In Utah Code 76-7-305.5

Abortion: means the act, by a physician, of using an instrument, or prescribing a drug, with the intent to cause the death of an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant, except as permitted under this part. See Utah Code 76-7-301
Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
Department: means the Department of Health and Human Services. See Utah Code 76-7-301
Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
Gestational age: means the age of an unborn child as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the pregnant woman. See Utah Code 76-7-301
Information module: means the pregnancy termination information module prepared by the department. See Utah Code 76-7-301
Medical emergency: means a life threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that places the pregnant woman at risk of death, or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function, unless the abortion is performed or induced. See Utah Code 76-7-301
Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Person: means an individual, public or private corporation, government, partnership, or unincorporated association. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
Physician: means :

(a)	a medical doctor licensed to practice medicine and surgery under Title 58, Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act;

(b)	an osteopathic physician licensed to practice osteopathic medicine under Title 58, Chapter 68, Utah Osteopathic Medical Practice Act; or

(c)

a physician employed by the federal government who has qualifications similar to an individual described in Subsection (12)(a) or (b). See Utah Code 76-7-301

State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5

Writing: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5

(2)

The information module and public website described in Subsection (1) shall:

(a)	be scientifically accurate, comprehensible, and presented in a truthful, nonmisleading manner;

(b)	present adoption as a preferred and positive choice and alternative to abortion;

(c)	be produced in a manner that conveys the state‘s preference for childbirth over abortion;

(d)	state that the state prefers childbirth over abortion;

(e)	state that it is unlawful for any person to coerce a woman to undergo an abortion;

(f)	state that any physician who performs an abortion without obtaining the woman’s informed consent or without providing her a private medical consultation in accordance with the requirements of this section, may be liable to her for damages in a civil action at law;

(g)

provide a geographically indexed list of resources and public and private services available to assist, financially or otherwise, a pregnant woman during pregnancy, at childbirth, and while the child is dependent, including:

(i)	medical assistance benefits for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care;

(ii)	services and supports available under Section 35A-3-308;

(iii)

other financial aid that may be available during an adoption;

(iv)	services available from public adoption agencies, private adoption agencies, and private attorneys whose practice includes adoption; and

(v)	the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of each person listed under this Subsection (2)(g);

(h)	describe the adoption-related expenses that may be paid under Section 76-7-203;

(i)	describe the persons who may pay the adoption related expenses described in Subsection (2)(h);

(j)	except as provided in Subsection (4), describe the legal responsibility of the father of a child to assist in child support, even if the father has agreed to pay for an abortion;

(k)	except as provided in Subsection (4), describe the services available through the Office of Recovery Services, within the Department of Health and Human Services, to establish and collect the support described in Subsection (2)(j);

(l)	state that private adoption is legal;

(m)

describe and depict, with pictures or video segments, the probable anatomical and physiological characteristics of an unborn child at two-week gestational increments from fertilization to full term, including:

(i)	brain and heart function;

(ii)	the presence and development of external members and internal organs; and

(iii)

the dimensions of the fetus;

(n)

show an ultrasound of the heartbeat of an unborn child at:

(i)	four weeks from conception;

(ii)	six to eight weeks from conception; and

(iii)

each month after 10 weeks gestational age, up to 14 weeks gestational age;

(o)

describe abortion procedures used in current medical practice at the various stages of growth of the unborn child, including:

(i)	the medical risks associated with each procedure;

(ii)	the risk related to subsequent childbearing that are associated with each procedure; and

(iii)

the consequences of each procedure to the unborn child at various stages of fetal development;

(p)	describe the possible detrimental psychological effects of abortion;

(q)	describe the medical risks associated with carrying a child to term;

(r)	include relevant information on the possibility of an unborn child’s survival at the two-week gestational increments described in Subsection (2)(m);

(s)

except as provided in Subsection (5), include:

(i)	information regarding substantial medical evidence from studies concluding that an unborn child who is at least 20 weeks gestational age may be capable of experiencing pain during an abortion procedure; and

(ii)	the measures that will be taken in accordance with Section 76-7-308.5;

(t)	explain the options and consequences of aborting a medication-induced abortion;

(u)

include the following statement regarding a medication-induced abortion, “Research indicates that mifepristone alone is not always effective in ending a pregnancy. You may still have a viable pregnancy after taking mifepristone. If you have taken mifepristone but have not yet taken the second drug and have questions regarding the health of your fetus or are questioning your decision to terminate your pregnancy, you should consult a physician immediately.”;

(v)	inform a pregnant woman that she has the right to view an ultrasound of the unborn child, at no expense to her, upon her request;

(w)

inform a pregnant woman that she has the right to:

(i)	determine the final disposition of the remains of the aborted fetus;

(ii)	unless the woman waives this right in writing, wait up to 72 hours after the abortion procedure is performed to make a determination regarding the disposition of the aborted fetus before the health care facility may dispose of the fetal remains;

(iii)

receive information about options for disposition of the aborted fetus, including the method of disposition that is usual and customary for a health care facility; and

(iv)	for a medication-induced abortion, return the aborted fetus to the health care facility for disposition; and

(x)	provide a digital copy of the form described in Subsection 26B-2-232(3)(a)(i); and

(y)	be in a typeface large enough to be clearly legible.

(3)	The information module and website described in Subsection (1) may include a toll-free 24-hour telephone number that may be called in order to obtain, orally, a list and description of services, agencies, and adoption attorneys in the locality of the caller.

(4)	The department may develop a version of the information module and website that omits the information in Subsections (2)(j) and (k) for a viewer who is pregnant as the result of rape.

(5)

The department may develop a version of the information module and website that omits the information described in Subsection (2)(s) for a viewer who will have an abortion performed:

(a)	on an unborn child who is less than 20 weeks gestational age at the time of the abortion; or

(b)

on an unborn child who is at least 20 weeks gestational age at the time of the abortion, if:

(i)	the abortion is being performed for a reason described in Subsection 76-7-302(2)(b)(i) or (ii); and

(ii)	due to a serious medical emergency, time does not permit compliance with the requirement to provide the information described in Subsection (2)(s).

(6)	The department and each local health department shall make the information module and the website described in Subsection (1) available at no cost to any person.

(7)	The department shall make the website described in Subsection (1) available for viewing on the department’s website by clicking on a conspicuous link on the home page of the website.

(8)

The department shall ensure that the information module is:

(a)	available to be viewed at all facilities where an abortion may be performed;

(b)	interactive for the individual viewing the module, including the provision of opportunities to answer questions and manually engage with the module before the module transitions from one substantive section to the next;

(c)	produced in English and may include subtitles in Spanish or another language; and

(d)	capable of being viewed on a tablet or other portable device.

(9)

After the department releases the initial version of the information module, for the use described in Section 76-7-305, the department shall:

(a)	update the information module, as required by law; and

(b)	present an updated version of the information module to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee for the committee’s review and recommendation before releasing the updated version for the use described in Section 76-7-305.

Amended by Chapter 301, 2023 General Session
Amended by Chapter 330, 2023 General Session

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