Louisiana § RS 40:1061.1.5 - Abortion prohibited; detectable fetal heartbeat; ultrasound required

§ RS 40:1061.1.5. Abortion prohibited; detectable fetal heartbeat; ultrasound required

            A.(1)(a) Prior to any abortion being performed, there shall first be performed an ultrasound, in accordance with the standards set forth in R.S. 40:1061.10(D), in order to determine whether or not a fetal heartbeat is present, and the results of the ultrasound shall be included in the pregnant woman's medical records.

            (b) Except as provided in Paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of this Subsection, it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly perform an abortion with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being when a fetal heartbeat has been detected. Any person who acts based on the exceptions provided in Paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of this Subsection shall so note in the pregnant woman's medical records and shall specify in the pregnant woman's medical records which of the exceptions the person performing the abortion has invoked.

            (2)(a) A person shall not be in violation of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection if the person performs a medical procedure designed to or intended, in that person's reasonable medical judgment, to prevent the death of a pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.

            (b)(i) A person who performs a medical procedure as described in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall declare in writing, under penalty of perjury, that the medical procedure was necessary, to the best of that person's reasonable medical judgment, to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. The person shall also provide in that written statement the specific medical condition of the pregnant woman that the medical procedure was performed to address, and the medical rationale for the conclusion that the medical procedure was necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.

            (ii) The person who performs a medical procedure as described in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall place the written documentation required by this Subparagraph in the pregnant woman's medical records, and shall maintain a copy of the written documentation for not less than seven years.

            (3) A person shall not be in violation of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection if the person has performed an examination for the presence of a fetal heartbeat in the unborn human individual using standard medical practice and that examination does not reveal a fetal heartbeat, or the person has been informed by a physician who has performed the examination for a fetal heartbeat that the examination did not reveal a fetal heartbeat.

            (4) For purposes of this Section, "abortion" shall not include an abortion performed when the pregnancy is diagnosed as medically futile.

            B. Repealed by Acts 2022, No. 545, §4.

            C. Whoever violates this Section shall be prosecuted pursuant to the effective provisions of R.S. 14:87.7 and shall be subject to the penalties provided in R.S. 40:1061.29.

            D. In addition to any other grounds provided by law, it shall be grounds for the nonissuance, suspension, revocation, or restriction of a license, or the denial of reinstatement or renewal of a license, issued by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, that the applicant or licensee has performed an abortion in violation of this Section.

            E. This Section shall not be construed to repeal any other provision of law that restricts or regulates the performance of an abortion by a particular method or during a particular stage of a pregnancy.

            F. The provisions of this Section are hereby repealed in favor of the provisions of R.S. 40:1061 immediately upon and to the extent that either:

            (1) A decision of the United States Supreme Court upholds the authority of each of the several states of the United States or of the state of Louisiana to prohibit elective abortions.

            (2) An amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America is adopted that restores to each of the several states of the United States or to the state of Louisiana the authority to prohibit elective abortions.

            Acts 2019, No. 31, §1, special eff. date; Acts 2022, No. 545, §§3, 4; Redesignated from R.S. 40:1061.1.3.