Reporting Requirements

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  2. Georgia Code
  3. Health
  4. Woman's Right to Know
  5. Reporting Requirements

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  1. The Department of Public Health shall prepare a reporting form for physicians performing abortions in a health facility licensed as an abortion facility by the Department of Community Health containing a reprint of this chapter and listing:
    1. The number of females to whom the physician provided the information described in paragraph (1) of Code Section 31-9A-3; of that number, the number to whom the information was provided by telephone and the number to whom the information was provided in person; and of each of those numbers, the number to whom the information was provided by a referring physician and the number to whom the information was provided by a physician who is to perform the abortion;
    2. The number of females to whom the physician or a qualified agent of the physician provided the information described in paragraph (2) of Code Section 31-9A-3; of that number, the number to whom the information was provided by telephone and the number to whom the information was provided in person; of each of those numbers, the number to whom the information was provided by a referring physician and the number to whom the information was provided by a physician who is to perform the abortion; and of each of those numbers, the number to whom the information was provided by the physician and the number to whom the information was provided by a qualified agent of the physician;
    3. The number of females who availed themselves of the opportunity to obtain a copy of the printed information described in Code Section 31-9A-4, other than on the website, and the number who did not; and of each of those numbers, the number who, to the best of the reporting physician's information and belief, went on to obtain the abortion; and
    4. The number of females who were provided the opportunity to view the fetal image and hear the fetal heartbeat; of that number, the number who elected to view the sonogram and the number who elected to listen to the fetal heartbeat, if present.
  2. The Department of Public Health shall ensure that copies of the reporting forms described in subsection (a) of this Code section are provided:
    1. Not later than September 7, 2005, to all health facilities licensed as an abortion facility by the Department of Community Health;
    2. To each physician licensed or who subsequently becomes licensed to practice in this state, at the same time as official notification to that physician that the physician is so licensed; and
    3. By December 1 of each year, other than the calendar year in which forms are distributed in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection, to all health facilities licensed as an abortion facility by the Department of Community Health.
  3. By February 28 of each year following a calendar year in any part of which this chapter was in effect, each physician who provided, or whose qualified agent provided, information to one or more females in accordance with Code Section 31-9A-3 during the previous calendar year shall submit to the Department of Public Health a copy of the form described in subsection (a) of this Code section with the requested data entered accurately and completely.
  4. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to preclude the voluntary or required submission of other reports or forms regarding abortions.
  5. Reports that are not submitted within a grace period of 30 days following the due date shall be subject to a late fee of $500.00 for that period and the same fee for each additional 30 day period or portion of a 30 day period the reports are overdue. Any physician required to submit a report in accordance with this Code section who submits an incomplete report or fails to submit a report for more than one year following the due date may, in an action brought by the Department of Public Health, be directed by a court of competent jurisdiction to submit a complete report within a period stated by court order or may be subject to sanctions for civil contempt.
  6. By June 30 of each year, the Department of Public Health shall issue a public report providing statistics for the previous calendar year compiled from all of the reports covering that year submitted in accordance with this Code section for each of the items listed in subsection (a) of this Code section. Each report shall also provide the statistics for all previous calendar years adjusted to reflect any additional information from late or corrected reports. The Department of Public Health shall ensure that none of the information included in the public reports could reasonably lead to the identification of any individual who provided information in accordance with Code Section 31-9A-3 or 31-9A-4.
  7. The Department of Public Health may, by regulation, alter the dates established by subsection (c) or (e) of this Code section or paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of this Code section or may consolidate the forms or reports described in this Code section with other forms or reports for reasons including, but not limited to, achieving administrative convenience or fiscal savings or reducing the burden of reporting requirements, so long as reporting forms are sent to all facilities licensed as an abortion facility by the Department of Community Health at least once every year and the report described in subsection (f) of this Code section is issued at least once every year.
  8. The Department of Public Health shall ensure that the names and identities of the physicians filing reports under this chapter shall remain confidential. The names and identities of such physicians shall not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.

(Code 1981, §31-9A-6, enacted by Ga. L. 2005, p. 1450, § 6/HB 197; Ga. L. 2007, p. 299, § 5/HB 147; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 1-4/HB 228; Ga. L. 2011, p. 705, § 5-14/HB 214.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2005, "Not later than September 7, 2005," was substituted for "Within 120 days after this chapter first becomes effective," in paragraph (b)(1).

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2007, p. 299, § 1/HB 147, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Woman's Ultrasound Right to Know Act.'"

Ga. L. 2007, p. 299, § 2/HB 147, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "(a) The General Assembly finds that:

"(1) It is essential to the psychological and physical well-being of a woman considering an abortion that she receive complete and accurate information on the reality and status of her pregnancy and of her unborn child;

"(2) The decision to abort 'is an important and often a stressful one, and it is desirable and imperative that it be made with full knowledge of its nature and consequences.' Planned Parenthood v. Danforth , 428 U.S. 52, 67 (1976); and

"(3) The knowledgeable exercise of a woman's decision to have an abortion depends on the extent to which the woman receives sufficient information to make an informed choice between two alternatives: giving birth or having an abortion.

"(b) Based on the findings in subsection (a) of this section, it is the purpose of this Act to:

"(1) Ensure that every woman considering an abortion receive complete information on the reality and status of her pregnancy and of her unborn child and that every woman submitting to an abortion do so only after giving her voluntary and informed consent to the abortion procedure;

"(2) Protect unborn children from a woman's uninformed decision to have an abortion;

"(3) Reduce 'the risk that a woman may elect an abortion, only to discover later, with devastating psychological consequences, that her decision was not fully informed' Planned Parenthood v. Casey , 505 U.S. 833, 882 (1992); and

"(4) Adopt the construction of the term 'medical emergency' accepted by the United States Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey , 505 U.S. 833 (1992)."

Ga. L. 2007, p. 299, § 7/HB 147, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "Nothing in this Act shall be construed as creating or recognizing a right to abortion. It is not the intention of this Act to make lawful an abortion that is currently unlawful."

Ga. L. 2007, p. 299, § 8/HB 147, not codified by the General Assembly, provides for severability.

Law reviews.

- For article on the 2011 amendment of this Code section, see 28 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 147 (2011). For note on 2007 amendment of this Code section, see 24 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 161 (2007).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 1 Am. Jur. 2d, Abortion and Birth Control, § 76 et seq.


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