South Dakota

Senate Bill 187 (2007)

Introduction

This bill passed in the Senate and was sent to the House in Febuary, 2007, but did not pass. [Administrator]

EIGHTY-SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, 2007

02/13/2007

Introduced by: Senators Nesselhuf, Abdallah, Heidepriem, Jerstad, Katus, Knudson, McCracken, Napoli, and Olson (Ed) and Representatives Halverson, Ahlers, Cutler, Elliott, Engels, Feinstein, Hills, Kirkeby, Lucas, McLaughlin, Nygaard, Street, Thompson, and Van Norman

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to provide for appropriate emergency health care for rape survivors and to require health care facilities and the Department of Health to provide information to rape survivors.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:

Section 2. Every health care facility providing emergency care to a rape survivor shall promptly provide such survivor with medically and factually accurate and objective written and oral information pursuant to section 3 of this Act, relating to emergency contraception. No health care facility is required to provide emergency contraception to a woman. Nothing in this Act prevents a health care facility from providing emergency contraception or a prescription for emergency contraception to a woman.

Section 3. The Department of Health shall develop, prepare, and produce medically and factually accurate and objective informational materials relating to emergency contraception for distribution to and use in all health care facilities in the state, in quantities sufficient to comply with the requirements of this Act. The Department of Health may also approve informational materials from medically recognized sources for the purposes of this Act. Such informational material shall be in clear and concise language, readily comprehensible, in such varieties and forms as the Department of Health deems necessary to inform rape survivors in English and languages other than English. Such materials shall explain the nature of emergency contraception including its use, safety, efficacy, and availability and will conform to the Food and Drug Administration's guidelines regarding emergency contraception.

Section 4. No health care facility, physician, nurse, or other person, is required to provide such rape survivor with materials developed and approved pursuant to Section 3 if doing so is contrary to the religious, moral, or ethical tenets of the health care facility, physician, nurse, or other person.