§ 50-20-705 — Distribution Of Abortion-Inducing Drugs

50-20-705 . Distribution of abortion-inducing drugs. (1) Because the failure and complication rates from a chemical abortion increase with advancing gestational age and because the physical symptoms of chemical abortion can be identical to the symptoms of ectopic pregnancy and abortion-inducing drugs do not treat ectopic pregnancies and are contraindicated in ectopic pregnancies, the qualified medical practitioner providing an abortion-inducing drug shall examine the woman in person and, prior to providing an abortion-inducing drug, shall:
(a) independently verify that a pregnancy exists;
(b) determine the woman's blood type, and if the woman is Rh negative, be able to and offer to administer RhoGAM at the time of the abortion;
(c) inform the woman that the woman may see the remains of the unborn child in the process of completing the abortion; and
(d) document in the woman's medical chart the gestational age and intrauterine location of the pregnancy and whether the woman received treatment for Rh negativity, as diagnosed by the most accurate standard of medical care.
(2) A qualified medical practitioner providing an abortion-inducing drug must be credentialed and competent to handle complications management, including emergency transfer, or must have a signed contract with an associated medical practitioner who is credentialed to handle complications and must be able to produce the signed contract on demand by the woman or by the department. Each woman to whom a qualified medical practitioner provides an abortion-inducing drug must be given the name and phone number of the associated medical practitioner.
(3) The qualified medical practitioner providing an abortion-inducing drug, or an agent of the qualified medical practitioner, shall schedule a followup visit for the woman at approximately 7 to 14 days after administration of the abortion-inducing drug to confirm that the pregnancy is completely terminated and to assess the degree of bleeding. The qualified medical practitioner shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the woman returns for the scheduled appointment. A brief description of the efforts made to comply with this subsection, including the date, time, and identification by name of the person making the efforts, must be included in the woman's medical record.

Legislative History

En. Sec. 5, Ch. 309, L. 2021.