Montana § 50-20-106 - Informed Consent

§ 50-20-106. Informed Consent

Informed consent. (1) An abortion may not be performed without the informed consent of the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed. The informed consent must be received at least 24 hours prior to the abortion and certified prior to or at the time of the abortion. (2) Informed consent must be certified by a written statement in a form prescribed by the department and signed by the physician and the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed in which the physician certifies that the physician has made the full disclosure provided in 50-20-104 (5) and in which the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed acknowledges that the disclosures have been made to the woman and that the woman voluntarily consents to the abortion. (3) If a woman chooses to review the written materials described in 50-20-304 , the materials must be provided to the woman at least 24 hours before the abortion or be mailed to the woman by certified mail, with delivery restricted to the addressee, at least 72 hours before the abortion. (4) The information required in 50-20-104 (5)(a) may be provided by telephone without conducting a physical examination or tests of the patient. The information may be based on facts supplied to the physician by the woman and other relevant information that is reasonably available to the physician. The information may not be provided by a tape recording but must be provided during a consultation in which the physician is able to ask questions of the woman and the woman is able to ask questions of the physician. If a physical examination, tests, or the availability of other information subsequently indicates, in the medical judgment of the physician, a revision of information previously provided to the patient, the revised information may be communicated to the patient at any time prior to the performance of the abortion. (5) The information required in 50-20-104 (5)(b) may be provided by a tape recording if provision is made to record or otherwise register specifically whether the woman does or does not choose to review the printed materials. (6) The informed consent or consent provided for in this section is not required if a licensed physician certifies that the abortion is necessary because of a medical emergency as defined in 50-20-303 . (7) An executive officer, administrative agency, or public employee of the state or of any local governmental body may not issue any order requiring an abortion or coerce any woman to have an abortion. A person may not coerce any woman to have an abortion. (8) A violation of subsections (1) through (7) is a misdemeanor.