HB 489 Summary

• Increases the waiting period before abortion from 24 hours to 48 hours under Alabama's Woman's Right to Know Act.

• Requires a physician or qualified person to provide printed materials at least 48 hours before abortion covering agencies offering assistance, adoption services, fetal development, abortion and childbirth methods and risks, father's obligations, and alternatives to abortion.

• Mandates in-person informed consent discussions covering the performing physician's name, abortion method and risks, gestational age and fetal characteristics, and viability information for pregnancies beyond 19 weeks.

• Requires mandatory ultrasound with the woman's right to view the images and completion of a form acknowledging she either viewed or rejected the opportunity to view the ultrasound.

• Requires abortion facilities to retain signed consent forms, certified mail receipts, and ultrasound images in the woman's medical file for at least four years.