Subdivision 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given:
(1) "abortion" means the use of any means to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with knowledge that the termination with those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child. For purposes of this section, abortion does not include an abortion necessary to prevent the death of the mother;
(2) "nondirective counseling" means providing clients with:
(i) a list of health care providers and social service providers that provide prenatal care, childbirth care, infant care, foster care, adoption services, alternatives to abortion, or abortion services; and
(ii) nondirective, nonmarketing information regarding such providers; and
(3) "unborn child" means a member of the species Homo sapiens from fertilization until birth.
Subd. 2. Eligibility for grants. (a) The commissioner shall award grants to eligible applicants under paragraph (c) for the reasonable expenses of alternatives to abortion programs to support, encourage, and assist women in carrying their pregnancies to term and caring for their babies after birth by providing information on, referral to, and assistance with securing necessary services that enable women to carry their pregnancies to term and care for their babies after birth. Necessary services must include, but are not limited to:
(1) medical care;
(2) nutritional services;
(3) housing assistance;
(4) adoption services;
(5) education and employment assistance, including services that support the continuation and completion of high school;
(6) child care assistance; and
(7) parenting education and support services.
An applicant may not provide or assist a woman to obtain adoption services from a provider of adoption services that is not licensed.
(b) In addition to providing information and referral under paragraph (a), an eligible program may provide one or more of the necessary services under paragraph (a) that assists women in carrying their pregnancies to term. To avoid duplication of efforts, grantees may refer to other public or private programs, rather than provide the care directly, if a woman meets eligibility criteria for the other programs.
(c) To be eligible for a grant, an agency or organization must:
(1) be a private, nonprofit organization;
(2) demonstrate that the program is conducted under appropriate supervision;
(3) not charge women for services provided under the program;
(4) provide each pregnant woman counseled with accurate information on the developmental characteristics of babies and of unborn children, including offering the printed information described in section 145.4243;
(5) ensure that its alternatives-to-abortion program's purpose is to assist and encourage women in carrying their pregnancies to term and to maximize their potentials thereafter;
(6) ensure that none of the money provided is used to encourage or affirmatively counsel a woman to have an abortion not necessary to prevent her death, to provide her an abortion, or to directly refer her to an abortion provider for an abortion. The agency or organization may provide nondirective counseling; and
(7) have had the alternatives to abortion program in existence for at least one year as of July 1, 2011; or incorporated an alternative to abortion program that has been in existence for at least one year as of July 1, 2011.
(d) The provisions, words, phrases, and clauses of paragraph (c) are inseverable from this subdivision, and if any provision, word, phrase, or clause of paragraph (c) or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity applies to all of this subdivision.
(e) An organization that provides abortions, promotes abortions, or directly refers to an abortion provider for an abortion is ineligible to receive a grant under this program. An affiliate of an organization that provides abortions, promotes abortions, or directly refers to an abortion provider for an abortion is ineligible to receive a grant under this section unless the organizations are separately incorporated and independent from each other. To be independent, the organizations may not share any of the following:
(1) the same or a similar name;
(2) medical facilities or nonmedical facilities, including but not limited to, business offices, treatment rooms, consultation rooms, examination rooms, and waiting rooms;
(3) expenses;
(4) employee wages or salaries; or
(5) equipment or supplies, including but not limited to, computers, telephone systems, telecommunications equipment, and office supplies.
(f) An organization that receives a grant under this section and that is affiliated with an organization that provides abortion services must maintain financial records that demonstrate strict compliance with this subdivision and that demonstrate that its independent affiliate that provides abortion services receives no direct or indirect economic or marketing benefit from the grant under this section.
(g) The commissioner shall approve any information provided by a grantee on the health risks associated with abortions to ensure that the information is medically accurate.
Subd. 3. Privacy protection. (a) Any program receiving a grant under this section must have a privacy policy and procedures in place to ensure that the name, address, telephone number, or any other information that might identify any woman seeking the services of the program is not made public or shared with any other agency or organization without the written consent of the woman. All communications between the program and the woman must remain confidential. For purposes of any medical care provided by the program, including, but not limited to, pregnancy tests or ultrasonic scanning, the program must adhere to the requirements in sections 144.291 to 144.298 that apply to providers before releasing any information relating to the medical care provided.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the commissioner has access to any information necessary to monitor and review a grantee's program as required under subdivision 4.
Subd. 4. Duties of commissioner. The commissioner shall make grants under subdivision 2 beginning no later than July 1, 2006. In awarding grants, the commissioner shall consider the program's demonstrated capacity in providing services to assist a pregnant woman in carrying her pregnancy to term. The commissioner shall monitor and review the programs of each grantee to ensure that the grantee carefully adheres to the purposes and requirements of subdivision 2 and shall cease funding a grantee that fails to do so.
Subd. 5. Severability. Except as provided in subdivision 2, paragraph (d), if any provision, word, phrase, or clause of this section or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the provisions, words, phrases, clauses, or applications of this section that can be given effect without the invalid provision, word, phrase, clause, or application and to this end, the provisions, words, phrases, and clauses of this section are severable.
Subd. 6. Minnesota Supreme Court jurisdiction. The Minnesota Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over an action challenging the constitutionality of this section and shall expedite the resolution of the action.
2005 c 124 s 2; 2007 c 147 art 10 s 15; 2012 c 152 s 1
Structure Minnesota Statutes
Chapter 145 — Public Health Provisions
Section 145.075 — Injunctive Relief Brought By Commissioner.
Section 145.131 — Findings And Purpose.
Section 145.135 — Uniform Determination Of Death Act.
Section 145.161 — Dissection; When Permitted.
Section 145.1621 — Disposition Of Aborted Or Miscarried Fetuses.
Section 145.1622 — Policy For Notification Of Disposition Options.
Section 145.267 — Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Prevention Grants.
Section 145.30 — Superintendent Of Hospitals To Transfer Records.
Section 145.31 — Copies To Be Used As Evidence.
Section 145.32 — Old Records May Be Destroyed.
Section 145.33 — Construction.
Section 145.36 — Exposing Person With Contagious Disease.
Section 145.365 — Trafficking In Skunks.
Section 145.37 — Manufacture Of Certain Products Which May Be Injurious.
Section 145.41 — Blood Donations, Age Of Donor.
Section 145.411 — Regulation Of Abortions; Definitions.
Section 145.412 — Criminal Acts.
Section 145.413 — Recording And Reporting Health Data.
Section 145.4131 — Recording And Reporting Abortion Data.
Section 145.4132 — Recording And Reporting Abortion Complication Data.
Section 145.4133 — Reporting Out-of-state Abortions.
Section 145.4134 — Commissioner's Public Report.
Section 145.4135 — Enforcement; Penalties.
Section 145.4136 — Severability.
Section 145.414 — Abortion Not Mandatory.
Section 145.415 — Live Fetus After Abortion, Treatment.
Section 145.416 — Licensing And Regulation Of Facilities.
Section 145.42 — Abortions; Nonliability For Refusal To Perform.
Section 145.421 — Human Conceptus, Living; Definitions.
Section 145.422 — Experimentation, Research Or Sale.
Section 145.423 — Abortion; Live Births.
Section 145.4235 — Positive Abortion Alternatives.
Section 145.424 — Prohibition Of Tort Actions.
Section 145.4241 — Definitions.
Section 145.4242 — Informed Consent.
Section 145.4243 — Printed Information.
Section 145.4244 — Internet Website.
Section 145.4245 — Procedure In Case Of Medical Emergency.
Section 145.4246 — Reporting Requirements.
Section 145.4248 — Severability.
Section 145.4249 — Supreme Court Jurisdiction.
Section 145.425 — Pay Toilets In Public Places; Prohibitions; Penalty.
Section 145.471 — Prenatal Trisomy Diagnosis Awareness Act.
Section 145.4711 — Definitions.
Section 145.4712 — Emergency Care To Sexual Assault Victims.
Section 145.4713 — Complaints.
Section 145.4715 — Reporting Prevalence Of Sexual Violence.
Section 145.4716 — Safe Harbor For Sexually Exploited Youth.
Section 145.4717 — Regional Navigator Grants.
Section 145.4718 — Program Evaluation.
Section 145.56 — Suicide Prevention.
Section 145.62 — Providing Information To Review Organization; Immunity.
Section 145.63 — Review Organization; Advisory Capacity; Immunity.
Section 145.64 — Confidentiality Of Records Of Review Organization.
Section 145.65 — Guidelines Not Admissible In Evidence.
Section 145.66 — Penalty For Violation.
Section 145.67 — Protection Of Patient.
Section 145.671 — Pediatric Vaccine Administration.
Section 145.672 — Healthy Children Through Immunization.
Section 145.682 — Certification Of Expert Review; Affidavit.
Section 145.698 — Confinement Of Drug Dependent Person.
Section 145.711 — Definitions.
Section 145.712 — Requirements For Contact Lenses Prescriptions.
Section 145.713 — Optometrist And Physician Practices.
Section 145.7131 — Exception To Eyeglass Prescription Expiration.
Section 145.714 — Enforcement.
Section 145.851 — Definitions.
Section 145.852 — Identifying Devices For Persons Having Certain Conditions.
Section 145.853 — Duty Of Law Enforcement Officer.
Section 145.854 — Duty Of Medical Practitioners.
Section 145.855 — Duty Of Others.
Section 145.856 — Falsifying Identification Or Misrepresenting Condition; Penalty.
Section 145.857 — Other Duties.
Section 145.867 — Persons Requiring Special Diets.
Section 145.87 — Home Visiting For Pregnant Women And Families With Young Children.
Section 145.8811 — Maternal And Child Health Advisory Task Force.
Section 145.882 — Maternal And Child Health Block Grant Distribution.
Section 145.8821 — Accountability.
Section 145.883 — Definitions.
Section 145.892 — Definitions.
Section 145.893 — Nutritional Supplement Program.
Section 145.894 — State Commissioner Of Health; Duties, Responsibilities.
Section 145.895 — Department Of Human Services.
Section 145.896 — Program Not A Substitute Or Replacement.
Section 145.897 — Food Benefits.
Section 145.898 — Sudden Infant Death.
Section 145.899 — Wic Food Benefits For Organics.
Section 145.901 — Maternal Death Studies.
Section 145.902 — Give Life A Chance; Safe Place For Newborns Duties; Immunity.
Section 145.905 — Location For Breastfeeding.
Section 145.906 — Postpartum Depression Education And Information.
Section 145.907 — Maternal Depression; Definition.
Section 145.924 — Aids Prevention Grants.
Section 145.925 — Family Planning Grants.
Section 145.9255 — Minnesota Education Now And Babies Later; Health.
Section 145.9261 — Abstinence Education Grant Program.
Section 145.9265 — Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Effects; Drug-exposed Infant.
Section 145.9266 — Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Campaign And Education.
Section 145.9268 — Community Clinic Grants.
Section 145.9269 — Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Section 145.928 — Eliminating Health Disparities.
Section 145.929 — Health Care Grants For The Uninsured.
Section 145.93 — Minnesota Poison Information Centers; Establishment.
Section 145.94 — Exposure To Hazardous Substance.
Section 145.945 — Certain Sales Of Cleaning Products Prohibited.
Section 145.951 — Implementation Plan; Statewide Program For Families.
Section 145.952 — Definitions.
Section 145.953 — Program Structure.
Section 145.954 — Standards For Program.
Section 145.955 — Duties Of Local Organization.
Section 145.956 — Training And Recruitment Of Volunteers.
Section 145.957 — Eligibility.
Section 145.958 — Youth Violence Prevention.