Detectable heartbeat – Abortion prohibited.

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A. No person shall perform or induce an abortion upon a pregnant woman without first detecting whether or not her unborn child has a heartbeat. No person shall perform or induce an abortion upon a pregnant woman after such time as her unborn child has been determined to have a detectable heartbeat except if, in reasonable medical judgment, she has a condition that so complicates her medical condition that it necessitates the abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or to avert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions. No such condition may be determined to exist if it is based on a claim or diagnosis that the woman will engage in conduct which she intends to result in her death or in substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.

B. A "detectable heartbeat" shall mean embryonic or fetal cardiac activity or the steady or repetitive rhythmic contract of the heart within the gestational sac.

C. "Reasonable medical judgment" means a medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved.

D. Any person violating subsection A of this section shall be guilty of homicide.

Added by Laws 2021, c. 219, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2021.


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