Section 18.05.032. Information relating to pregnancy and pregnancy alternatives.

   (a) The department shall maintain on the Internet, in printable form, standard information that
        (1) contains geographically indexed material designed to inform a person of public and private agencies, services, clinics, and facilities that are available to assist a woman with the woman's reproductive choices; the department shall include information about at least the following types of agencies, services, clinics, and facilities:
             (A) agencies, services, clinics, and facilities designed to assist a woman through pregnancy, including adoption agencies, and counseling services;
             (B) agencies, services, clinics, and facilities that provide abortion options and counseling and post-abortion counseling and services; and
             (C) agencies, services, clinics, and facilities designed to assist with or provide contraceptive options and counseling for appropriate family planning;
        (2) includes a comprehensive regional directory of the agencies, services, clinics, and facilities that request to be identified by the department under (1) of this subsection, a description of the services they offer, and the manner in which the agencies, services, clinics, and facilities may be contacted, including telephone numbers;
        (3) provides information concerning the eligibility for medical assistance benefits for prenatal care, childbirth, neonatal care, abortion services, women's health care, and contraception;
        (4) states that informed and voluntary consent is required under AS 18.16.060 for an abortion;
        (5) provides information concerning the process by which a mother of a child may establish a child support order to assist in the support of a child;
        (6) describes the fetal development of a typical unborn child at two-week gestational increments from fertilization to full-term, including links to photographs of a typical unborn child at four-week gestational increments, and relevant information about the possibility of an unborn child's survival at the various gestational ages; the information must be objective, nonjudgmental information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and designed to convey only accurate scientific information about unborn children at various gestational ages;
        (7) contains objective, unbiased information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and that describes the methods of abortion procedures and treatments commonly employed and the medical risks and possible complications commonly associated with each procedure and treatment, as well as the possible physical and psychological effects that have been associated with having an abortion;
        (8) contains objective, unbiased information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and that describes the possible medical risks and complications commonly associated with pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the possible physical and psychological effects that have been associated with carrying a child to term;
        (9) contains objective, unbiased information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and that concerns the harmful effects on an unborn child when a woman consumes alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs during pregnancy;
        (10) contains objective, unbiased, and comprehensive information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and that describes the different types of available contraceptive choices, including abstinence and natural family planning, that describes the methods of contraception that are intended to prevent fertilization and the methods that are intended to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg, and that describes the reliability, psychological effects, medical risks, and complications commonly associated with each method;
        (11) contains a disclaimer on the website home page concerning the graphic or sensitive nature of the information contained on the website;
        (12) contains a signature form by which a person may indicate the person has reviewed the information.
   (b) The department shall adopt regulations establishing procedures for establishing and maintaining the information under this section.
   (c) In this section,
        (1) "abortion" has the meaning given in AS 18.16.090;
        (2) "fertilization" means the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum;
        (3) "gestational age" means the age of the unborn child as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of a pregnant woman;
        (4) "unborn child" means the offspring of a human being in utero at various stages of biological development.

Authorities

18.16.060;18.50.245

Notes

Implemented As

7 AAC 55.680

References

7 AAC 55.680
AS 18.16.060 Informed consent requirements.
AS 18.50.245 Report of induced termination of pregnancy.

History

(Sec. 2 ch 178 SLA 2004)