CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 30(JUD) "An Act relating to information and services available to pregnant women and other persons; and ensuring informed consent before an abortion may be performed, except in cases of medical emergency." This was the first hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance Committee. Co-Chair Wilken stated that this bill, "places in statute a current regulation that states an abortion may not be performed unless the patient gives informed consent. In addition, SB 30 directs the Department of Health and Social Services to develop a website designed to inform a pregnant women regarding her reproductive choices." SENATOR FRED DYSON, sponsor, testified that regulations require that doctors provide for informed consent and that this bill would make the requirements statutory. He stated that since introduction, this legislation has been "extensively modified and improved" incorporating recommendations from the Department of Law and the Department of Health and Social Services. He explained that under the provisions of this bill, a doctor would not be required to utilize the information supplied by the State, and could instead continue to use information compiled by the doctor. He noted the information supplied by the Department of Health and Social Services would be continually updated and available on the Internet in several languages. He suggested this would allow the doctor to have current information on support and services available. He informed that a doctor who chooses to utilize the information provided by the Department would be exempt from the liability of not providing adequate informed consent. Senator Olson asked the affect of this legislation on the normal operations of practitioners. He spoke as a physician of the many existing requirements placed on doctors and opposed the imposition of additional complexities. Senator Dyson relayed testimony from doctors that they are "already doing a good job of informing their patients of the risks and choices that they have." He stated that doctors already providing informed consent would only be required to keep a record of such in a patient's file. He predicted that the utilization of the Department supplied information would simplify the process for doctors, as the information would be kept up to date. He cited the "very few botched abortion operations" in Alaska as indicating the most practitioners are performing adequately. Senator Olson expressed concern about the additional burden of compliance in the event of a medical emergency. Senator Dyson noted existing regulations require informed consent for all medical procedures, which would not change. He suggested that "no competent practitioner" would perform "a somewhat invasive procedure like abortion" without having reviewed the matter with the patient. Co-Chair Wilken directed the discussion to focus on fiscal issues related to this legislation and not "too much of the mechanics part". He indicated opportunity would be provided for further discussion on other aspects of the bill. Senator Olson asked the anticipated financial impact of the requirement to keep records of informed consent. Senator Dyson expected no additional financial impact, as documentation of informed consent is already required. Senator Olson asked the penalties to a physician for failure to comply with the statute. JASON HOOLEY, Staff to Senator Dyson, responded that the physician would be civilly liable for compensatory and punitive damages. Senator Olson asked if this differs from current regulations. Mr. Hooley answered that the civil liability provision is not stipulated in the regulations. VICKY HALCRO, Director, Public Affairs and Marketing, Planned Parenthood of Alaska, testified via teleconference from Anchorage, against the bill on behalf of Anna Franks, Executive Director. She read a statement into the record as follows. I strongly urge you to oppose SB 30. This proposed legislation would create excessive obstacles resulting in undue burden for the women of Alaska who are seeking to obtain an abortion. One such obstacle proposed by SB 30 includes requiring that only physicians verbally, individually and in a private setting, present patients the information necessary to provide informed consent. A second troublesome obstacle proposed by SB 30 is a mandated 24-hour waiting period requiring that this information be provided to a patient 24 hours in advance of an abortion. In tandem, the ramifications of these two mandates multiply, especially when taking into consideration the geographic uniqueness of our State. The 24-hour waiting period, along with the requirement that a physician is the only person eligible to relate particular information will result in many patients having to visit a clinic three times: once for the pregnancy test, a second time for the physician to provide the information to the patient - many times the physician will not be available the moment the patient receives their test results, and a third visit for the procedure. Adding a third visit translates into increased expenses, risks and stress. Three visits means more time off from work, a possible increase in risk - any delay can carry medical risks, especially if a doctor is not available for a second or third appointment for a week or more, and increased stress resulting in additional time away from family and jobs. Women from rural communities who must travel to Anchorage or Fairbanks for medical care will feel these burdens the most, possibly making an abortion prohibitive. The intent of SB 30 is clear: restricting physicians as the only information provider to patients, misappropriates valuable physician resources. Rather than allowing a physician the option of delegating this responsibility to another trained staff member, a physician's availability to perform abortions is limited, therefore reducing the women of Alaska's access to abortion. Moreover, physicians and clinics are already required and do provide to the patients the necessary information to ensure that they are able to make an informed decision regarding any surgical procedure, including abortion. SB 30 unjustly singles out abortion and imposes numerous additional requirements that are not only unfair to the women of Alaska, but also unconstitutional. Once again, I strongly urge you to vote against SB 30. Senator Dyson asked if reason why the required information could not be provided to a patient at time of the pregnancy test. Ms. Halcro responded that the physician might be unavailable for a consultation at the time of the pregnancy test. She suggested authorization to allow the physician to delegate the responsibility to a trained staff member. Senator Dyson commented this would be reasonable. Co-Chair Green offered a motion to move SB 30 from Committee with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes. There was no objection and CS SB 30 (JUD) MOVED from Committee with two fiscal notes from the Department of Health and Social Services: fiscal note #1 for $20,000 from the Maternal, Child and Family Health component, and fiscal note #2 for $30,000 from the Bureau of Vital Statistics component.