Legislature(2017 - 2018)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/02/2018 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SJR14 | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): Select Committee on Legislative Ethics | |
| HB312 | |
| SB148 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SJR 14 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 312 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 148 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SJR 14-CONST. AM: PARENTAL CONSENT TO ABORTION
1:35:34 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of SJR 14.
1:36:07 PM
SENATOR DONNY OLSON, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,
sponsor of SJR 14, provided a summary of the legislation
speaking to the following sponsor statement:
Parents alone have the sole duty and responsibility of
raising their children, providing for their education,
sustenance, and spiritual wellbeing. Any legal
provision, guideline, statute, or ordinance infringing
upon that fundamental principle and right of parents
should be changed.
Senate Joint Resolution 14 proposes an amendment to
the Alaska Constitution creating a new section
allowing the legislature OR the people through the
initiative process to have the option to require
notice to and the consent of the parent or the legal
guardian of a minor before the minor's pregnancy is
terminated.
It is a well-established principle that before
treating a patient, a physician or other healthcare
provider must obtain the consent of that patient. This
proposition becomes less clear when treating minors
and physicians are often faced with the question of
just who may consent to treatment and under what
circumstances? This resolution is a first step to
clarify this vital issue.
SENATOR OLSON advised that the resolution is the first step
toward putting the question of amending the Alaska Constitution
for this specific purpose before the voters. He cited Article I,
Section 2 as the authorizing authority. He noted that the
resolution is a response to the 2010 [Alaska Parental
Notification Initiative] that the Alaska Supreme Court struck
down. He emphasized that political power is inherent in the
people, not the five judges that everyone looks up to and
greatly respects.
1:43:37 PM
JIM PUCKETT, Staff, Senator Donny Olson, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, stated that SJR 14 provides that
Article I, Constitution of the State of Alaska, would be amended
by adding a new Section 26 titled "Notice and Consent before
Termination of Minor's Pregnancy. This section could be
implemented by the legislature or by initiative. The amendment
proposed by the resolution would be placed before the voters at
the next general election.
1:44:53 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what happens in the circumstance of a
child who is a ward of the state.
MR. PUCKETT replied it could be handled the same way that the
state currently handles the situation of a pregnant foster
child, although he did not know what that was.
CHAIR COGHILL pointed out that the resolution provides that the
section would be implemented by law.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how the resolution defines a minor.
MR. PUCKETT said the state defines a minor as a person age 18 or
younger.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if a married 17-year-old would need
parental consent to obtain an abortion.
MR. PUCKETT replied that will be addressed should the amendment
be put in place.
SENATOR OLSON offered his understanding that a minor who is
married would be emancipated.
CHAIR COGHILL added that a 16-year-old can be emancipated.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he was trying to frame the extent that
a parent has rights over their minor child's body. He asked if a
parent could force their 15-year-old child to have an abortion.
MR. PUCKETT replied, "We're dealing with the consent, not the
parents forcing them to do something." He added that in school a
parent must consent to their child seeing the school nurse or
going on a field trip.
SENATOR COSTELLO recalled a proposition that said a child who
was pregnant and could not go to their parents could appear
before a judge. She asked if the legislature would need to work
out the details, should this pass.
1:49:09 PM
MR. PUCKETT said Ballot Measure 2 allowed the minor to go to
court to authorize an abortion without giving notice to the
parent or guardian. It also made it a felony for a doctor to
notify the parents of the minor's intent to have an abortion.
CHAIR COGHILL added that the issue of judicial bypass could
again be up for debate should this question get to the people of
Alaska.
SENATOR COSTELLO asked if the legislature would handle the
regulatory details if the constitution is changed.
SENATOR OLSON replied that is his understanding, but he would
prefer to delay any discussion of the details until after the
people have spoken about what they want in the constitution.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked the intent regarding the type of
notice and consent. Is the notice verbal or written and is the
consent from the parent to the child and the doctor?
MR. PUCKETT said those details would be worked out later, but it
seems reasonable that the consent would be written.
1:52:10 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if a doctor would be subject to
criminal penalties if he/she performed an abortion without
parental consent.
MR. PUCKETT replied that detail would be worked out in the
future.
1:52:35 PM
SENATOR KELLY pointed out that the resolution says the
legislature shall implement the section by law in a manner
consistent with the requirements of the U.S. Constitution. The
details are left to the legislature to work out.
MR. PUCKETT agreed and read the legislative oath of office. He
said legislators will take care of the details that arise as a
result in the change to the constitution.
SENATOR KELLY it's also important for the legislature to realize
that the constitutional amendment regarding privacy also says
that the legislature shall implement this by law and that has
mostly been ignored by the courts.
MR. PUCKETT said the sponsor's intent is for the people to have
an opportunity to make their will very clear.
1:54:59 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI disagreed that all the details would be
decided by the legislature in the future. He said he interprets
the entire first sentence as a fundamental change in the state
constitution. Thus, the legislative history on what is notice,
what is consent, who is a legal guardian, and what is a minor is
very relevant and will override the second sentence. He said
things that are defined in this room are critical because that
legislative history will inform the court when these issues come
up in court cases, which they undoubtedly will.
He asked if a minor has constitutional rights to decide when and
if they want to start a family.
MR. PUCKETT replied, "I believe, in Alaska there is an age where
they can legally go get married on their own."
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if a 15-year-old has parenting rights
over her child or if that minor's parents have parenting rights
over their grandchild.
CHAIR COGHILL suggested the sponsor respond.
1:57:44 PM
SENATOR OLSON said he didn't have answers to all the details. He
wants the people of Alaska to decide if they want parents to
consent to this surgical procedure.
CHAIR COGHILL said he wanted the sponsor to hear the first line
of questions so he could begin to think about the language and
how it might be challenged. The questions are appropriate
because the definitions are something that will need to be
fleshed out. He said he generally agrees that the people should
reinforce what the legislature is trying to define.
He asked Senator Wielechowski if he had anything more for the
committee and sponsor to consider.
1:59:39 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI questioned whether this should just be
limited to the termination of pregnancy. If not, he asked if
Section I should say that notice and consent is required before
any medical procedure is done.
MR. PUCKETT replied, "It's already a reality that just about any
other type of medical procedure that needs to be done on a minor
needs consent from a parent."
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI replied that is false and directed
attention to AS 25.20.025.
MR. PUCKETT named abortion, treatment of sexually transmitted
disease and noted there is a third item.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI read paragraph (1) and part of paragraph
(2) of Sec. 25.20.025(a). He questioned saying a minor must get
consent to terminate a pregnancy, but not for anything else,
including major surgery.
MR. PUCKETT said he stands corrected; he didn't think about the
exceptions in current law. He asked Senator Wielechowski to
restate the original question.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked the reasoning for singling out this
one medical situation.
2:01:45 PM
SENATOR KELLY said the answer is that the courts have singled
out abortion as having special rights to the point that parents
do not have rights. In other situations, the courts have been
fairly reasonable about requiring the consent of the parent. The
resolution seeks to put abortion on that reasonable list of
things to which parents should give consent.
CHAIR COGHILL asked the sponsor to do a little research on the
areas where there is an exception to the parental consent rule
and the litigation that followed Roe v. Wade. The idea is to
understand the line of thinking that makes this resolution
necessary.
SENATOR OLSON said he understands that Roe v. Wade is the law of
the land and SJR 14 is not an attack on that. He continued to
say:
This is the idea that I as a parent who has children
that are younger girls but more importantly that I
as an Alaskan, whether I'm in the legislature or not
in the legislature, have got the ability to make sure
that if a majority of us have an idea and we want
something done, that there is a constitutional
protection that if we vote a certain way, we want this
done this way that the courts don't have the ability
to overturn it.
We've got a five-judge panel out there, many of whom
aren't even from the state of Alaska that are
overturning what people from the state of Alaska voted
on. And that's what I'm trying to do. That's the
bottom line of what I want to say. Is if we've got an
initiative that passes, I want that listened to and if
that's being overturned then a constitutional
amendment needs to be drawn up and that's why I've
drawn it.
SENATOR KELLY said most of the things like what is a parent,
what is a minor, and what are the circumstances under which a
parent has control are defined in statute and work quite well
until it comes to abortion. The courts treat that differently.
CHAIR COGHILL said he asked the sponsor for the information so
there would be a good record. Because "termination of pregnancy"
has been highly litigated through the years, it is important
that each word and the intent is clear going forward. He said
that's what Senator Wielechowski is getting to and he agrees
with that point.
CHAIR COGHILL thanked the sponsor and held SJR 14 in committee
for future consideration.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 312 - Sectional Summary (ver. O).pdf |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 312 |
| HB 312 - Letters of Support #1.pdf |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 312 |
| HB 312 - Letters of Support #2.pdf |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 312 |
| HB 312 - Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 312 |
| HB 312 - Supporting Document - Stable for Discharge Definition.pdf |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 312 |
| HB 312 - Letter of Opposition.pdf |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |
HB 312 |
| SJR 14 - Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 14 |
| SJR 14 - Version A.PDF |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |
SJR 14 |
| Skip Cook Resume.pdf |
SJUD 3/2/2018 1:30:00 PM |