Proposed as a substitute for House, No. 5595, to be recommended by the Governor as an amendment pursuant to Amendments, Article LVI of the Massachusetts Constitution.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 12N of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 to 9, inclusive, the words “no abortion may be performed except by a physician, and only if in the best medical judgement of the physician it is: (i) necessary to preserve the life of the patient; (ii) necessary to preserve the patient’s physical or mental health; (iii) warranted because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis; or (iv) warranted because of a grave fetal diagnosis that indicates that the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside of the uterus without extraordinary medical interventions” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-
no abortion may be performed except by a physician, and only if, in the best medical judgment of the physician, based on the particular facts of the case, it is: (i) necessary to preserve the life of the patient; (ii) necessary to preserve the patient’s physical or mental health; (iii) warranted because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis; (iv) warranted because of a grave fetal diagnosis that indicates that the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside of the uterus without extraordinary medical interventions; or (v) warranted because there is an absence of fetal viability, and such determination and its basis are certified in writing as required by section 12N½.
SECTION 2.
Section 12N½ of said chapter 112, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby struck out and the following section inserted in place thereof:-
Section 12N½. (a) For purposes of section 12N and this section, ‘viability’ means that stage of fetal development when, in the reasonable medical judgment of the attending physician, based on the particular facts of the case, there is a reasonable likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus, with or without artificial support.
(b) No medical review process shall override the professional judgment of a treating physician and a patient, or the patient’s health care proxy, to provide an abortion consistent with section 12N.
(c) Where an abortion is performed under section 12N after the point of viability, the attending physician and 1 consulting physician who is not otherwise involved in providing the abortion shall each certify in writing, based on their independent best clinical judgment, the clause of section 12N relied upon and the medical basis therefor; such certification shall be entered in the patient’s medical record. The second certification required by this subsection shall not be required where the attending physician determines that a delay to obtain it would endanger the life of the patient, in which case the attending physician shall document the emergency and the basis for proceeding without it.
SECTION 3.
Section 12P of said chapter 112, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following 2 paragraphs:-
Prior to the performance of an abortion under section 12N based on clause (iii) or (iv) of said section 12N, the attending physician or a qualified member of the patient’s health care team shall inform the patient, orally or in writing, of the availability of perinatal hospice and palliative care programs and shall provide the patient with the list of such programs and resources maintained by the department of public health pursuant to section 12Q. This paragraph shall not apply in a medical emergency, and the information required by this paragraph may be declined by the patient.
As part of the informed consent required by this section for an abortion performed under section 12N after the point of viability, as defined in section 12N½, the attending physician shall discuss with the patient the known medical risks of the procedure and shall inform the patient of the availability of counseling and emotional support resources, both before and after the procedure, including the written materials maintained by the department of public health pursuant to section 12Q. Nothing in this paragraph shall require the attending physician to make a statement regarding the psychological effects of abortion that is not supported by generally accepted, peer-reviewed medical evidence.
SECTION 4.
Section 12Q of said chapter 112, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
The department shall develop and maintain, and make publicly available on its website, (i) a current list of perinatal hospice and palliative care programs and providers operating in the commonwealth, and (ii) written materials describing counseling and emotional support resources available to patients who have undergone or are considering a late-term abortion. The department shall review and update such list and materials not less than once annually, in consultation with relevant medical specialty societies, and shall ensure such materials are based on current, peer-reviewed medical evidence.