HB 1402 Summary

• Establishes the Women's Health Defense Act to prohibit abortions at or after 20 weeks gestation, except in medical emergencies defined as situations where the pregnant woman's life is endangered or continuation of pregnancy creates serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.

• Requires physicians to determine probable gestational age of the unborn child and perform necessary medical examinations before performing any abortion, with specific requirements for making accurate diagnoses.

• Makes intentional or knowing violation of the Act a felony; physicians violating the Act face fines of $10,000 to $100,000 and/or imprisonment of 1 to 10 years.

• Allows civil action by the father (if married to mother) or maternal grandparents (if mother is under 18) to recover money damages and statutory damages of 10 times the abortion cost for violations of the Act.

• Provides for immediate revocation of medical facility licenses that perform abortions in violation of the Act and loss of all state funding for 10 years, with requirement to reimburse state funds from the applicable fiscal year.