No abortion shall be performed in this state except with the voluntary and informed consent of the female upon whom the abortion is to be performed. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed if and only if:
The information required by this paragraph may be provided by telephone without conducting a physical examination or tests of the patient, in which case the information required to be provided may be based on facts supplied to the physician by the female and whatever other relevant information is reasonably available to the physician. Such information may not be provided by a tape recording but must be provided during a consultation in which the physician or a qualified agent of the physician is able to ask questions of the female and the female is able to ask questions of the physician or the physician’s qualified agent. If in the medical judgment of the physician any physical examination, tests, or other information subsequently provided to the physician requires a revision of the information previously supplied to the patient, that revised information shall be communicated to the patient prior to the performance of the abortion. Nothing in this Code section may be construed to preclude provision of required information in a language understood by the patient through a translator;
The information required by this paragraph may be provided by a tape recording if provision is made to record or otherwise register specifically whether the female does or does not choose to review the printed materials other than on the website;
History. Code 1981, § 31-9A-3 , enacted by Ga. L. 2005, p. 1450, § 6/HB 197; Ga. L. 2007, p. 299, § 3/HB 147; Ga. L. 2019, p. 711, § 7/HB 481.
The 2019 amendment, effective January 1, 2020, substituted “an unborn child” for “the unborn child” in subparagraphs (1)(B) and (1)(C); and inserted “and presence of a detectable human heartbeat, as such term is defined in Code Section 1-2-1,” in subparagraph (1)(B).
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.
Ga. L. 2019, p. 711, § 1/HB 481, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act.’ ”
Ga. L. 2019, p. 711, § 2/HB 481, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly of Georgia makes the following findings:”
“(1) In the founding of the United States of America, the State of Georgia and the several states affirmed that: ‘We hold these Truths to be self evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness — that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among men;’
“(2) To protect the fundamental rights of all persons, and specifically to protect the fundamental rights of particular classes of persons who had not previously been recognized under law, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, providing that, ‘nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws’;
“(3) Modern medical science, not available decades ago, demonstrates that unborn children are a class of living, distinct persons and more expansive state recognition of unborn children as persons did not exist when Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) and Roe v. Wade (1973) established abortion related precedents;
“(4) The State of Georgia, applying reasoned judgment to the full body of modern medical science, recognizes the benefits of providing full legal recognition to an unborn child above the minimum requirements of federal law;
“(5) Article I, Section I, Paragraphs I and II of the Constitution of the State of Georgia affirm that ‘[n]o person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law’; and that ‘[p]rotection to person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and complete. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws’; and
“(6) It shall be the policy of the State of Georgia to recognize unborn children as natural persons.”
Ga. L. 2019, p. 711, § 13/HB 481, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “Any citizen of this state shall have standing and the right to intervene and defend in any action challenging the constitutionality of any portion of this Act.”
Ga. L. 2019, p. 711, § 14/HB 481, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “All provisions of this Act shall be severable in accordance with Code Section 1-1-3.”
Law reviews.
For note on 2007 amendment of this Code section, see 24 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 161 (2007).
For article, “Crimes and Offenses,” see 27 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 209 (2011).
For article on the 2019 amendment of this Code section, see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 155 (2019).