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24LSO-0446
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0446
Numbered
2.0
SENATE FILE NO. SF0108
Protecting water from chemical abortion waste.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Biteman, Boner, Bouchard, French, Hutchings, Ide, McKeown, Salazar and Steinmetz and Representative(s) Allemand, Andrew, Bear, Heiner, Hornok, Jennings, Locke, Ottman, Penn, Styvar, Washut and Winter
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to abortions and environmental quality; specifying requirements for the provision of chemical abortions; specifying criminal and civil penalties and liability; specifying exceptions to criminal liability; specifying requirements for manufacturers of chemical abortion drugs; specifying environmental and disposal requirements for abortion drugs; specifying duties of the department of environmental quality; specifying applicability; providing for the conflict of laws; providing definitions; requiring rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 35
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6
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201 through 35
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6
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203 are created to read:
ARTICLE 2
REGULATION OF CHEMICAL ABORTIONS
35
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6
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201.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this article:
(i)
"
Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance, device or means with the intent to terminate the pregnancy of a woman, including the elimination of one (1) or more unborn babies in a multifetal pregnancy, with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn baby. "Abortion" shall not include any use, prescription or means specified in this paragraph if the use, prescription or means are done with the intent to:
(A)
Save the life or preserve the health of the unborn baby;
(B)
Remove a dead unborn baby caused by spontaneous abortion or intrauterine fetal demise;
(C)
Treat a woman for an ectopic pregnancy; or
(D)
Treat a woman for cancer or another disease that requires medical treatment which treatment may be fatal or harmful to the unborn baby.
(ii)
"Abortion drug" means any medicine, drug or other substance, or combination thereof, when used to intentionally:
(A)
Kill the unborn baby of a woman known to be pregnant; or
(B)
Terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead unborn baby.
(iii)
"Catch kit" means a collection container designed to catch and hold medical waste or infectious waste, including containers used for collecting samples for testing;
(iv)
"Chemical abortion" means the use of an abortion drug to intentionally:
(A)
Kill the unborn baby of a woman known to be pregnant; or
(B)
Terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead unborn baby.
(v)
"Health care provider" means any person licensed to prescribe prescription drugs under federal law or state law;
(vi)
"Medical waste bag" means a biohazardous waste container made to contain medical or biohazardous waste;
(vii)
"Pregnancy" or "pregnant" means the human female reproductive condition of having a living unborn baby or human being within a human female's body throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages of the unborn human being from fertilization, when a fertilized egg has implanted in the wall of the uterus, to full gestation and childbirth;
(viii)
"Unborn baby" means an individual living member of the species homo sapiens throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages from fertilization to full gestation and childbirth.
35
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6
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202.
Chemical abortions; requirements; penalties; liability; exceptions.
(a)
No health care provider shall knowingly provide or attempt to provide a chemical abortion without completing all of the following:
(i)
Physically examining the patient;
(ii)
Being physically present with the pregnant woman at a hospital or the health care provider's facility when the woman ingests the first abortion drug or drugs necessary for a chemical abortion;
(iii)
Scheduling a follow
‑
up visit for the patient that occurs not later than seven (7) days after the administration or use of the abortion drug in order to assess the patient's condition;
(iv)
Providing a catch kit and medical waste bag to the patient, including instructions for the patient to bring the catch kit and medical waste bag to the health care provider for proper disposal.
(b)
Any health care provider who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not to exceed three (3) years, a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(c)
Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to:
(i)
A pregnant woman who procures or attempts to procure a chemical abortion;
(ii)
Efforts by a health care provider to treat a diagnosed ectopic pregnancy.
(d)
Medical waste bags provided to pregnant women seeking a chemical abortion under this article shall:
(i)
Contain warning labels that state "BIOHAZARD" and the universal biological hazard symbol;
(ii)
Be fluorescent orange or orange
‑
red with lettering and symbols in a contrasting color.
35
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6
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203.
Applicability; conflict of laws.
If any provision of this article conflicts with the Life is a Human Right Act or W.S. 35
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6
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139, the provisions of the Life is a Human Right Act and W.S. 35
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6
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139 shall control over this article to the extent that the Life is a Human Right Act and W.S. 35
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6
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139 are enforceable.
Section 2.
W.S. 35
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6
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133, 35
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11
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301 by creating new subsections (b) and (c) and 35
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11
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302(a) by creating a new paragraph (xii) are amended to read:
35
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6
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133.
Rules and regulations for disposal of bodies and parts thereof.
The state department of health
may
shall
prescribe rules and regulations for the disposal of the bodies, tissues, organs and parts thereof of an unborn child, human fetus or human embryo which has been aborted.
35
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11
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301.
Prohibited acts.
(b)
No abortion drug as defined by W.S. 35
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6
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201(a)(ii) shall enter any public water supply or community water system. The manufacturer of any abortion drug shall be responsible for proper disposal of discarded abortion drugs and for the mitigation and remediation of any environmental effects of abortion drugs, including endocrine
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disrupting chemical byproducts of abortion drugs, that may enter any disposal system, sewerage system, public water supply, community water system or the waters of the state as a result of the disposal of tainted human remains from at
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home abortions.
(c)
If endocrine
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disrupting chemicals from abortion drugs as defined by W.S. 35
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6
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201(a)(ii) are found in wastewater, a public water supply, a community water system or the waters of the state, the manufacturer of the abortion drugs shall be responsible for cleanup, remediation and any further preventative measures that the department may require.
35
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11
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302.
Administrator's authority to recommend standards, rules, regulations or permits.
(a)
The administrator, after receiving public comment and after consultation with the advisory board, shall recommend to the director rules, regulations, standards and permit systems to promote the purposes of this act. Such rules, regulations, standards and permit systems shall prescribe:
(xii)
Standards for the collection and disposal of discarded abortion drugs as defined by W.S. 35
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6
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201(a)(ii) and for the mitigation and remediation necessary to address the environmental effects of abortion drugs that are discharged into any disposal system, sewerage system, public water supply, community water system or the waters of the state. Rules promulgated under this paragraph shall include requirements for the testing of community water systems and public water supplies to ensure that endocrine
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disrupting chemical byproducts of abortion drugs do not enter a water system or water supply.
Section 3
.
(a)
The department of health shall promulgate all rules within its authority necessary to implement this act.
(b)
The environmental quality council, upon recommendation from the department of environmental quality, shall promulgate all rules within its authority necessary to implement this act.
Section 4
.
This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
(END)
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SF0108