Sec.19-13-D54. Abortions

(a) No abortion shall be performed at any stage of pregnancy except by a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery in the State of Connecticut.

(b) All induced abortions will be reported within seven days by the physician performing the procedure to the state commissioner of public health who will maintain such reports in a confidential file and use them only for statistical purposes except in cases involving licensure. Such reports will specify date of abortion, place where performed, age of woman and town and state of residence, approximate duration of pregnancy, method of abortion, and explanation of any complications. The name of the woman will not be given. These records will be destroyed within two years after date of receipt. In addition, a fetal death certificate shall be filed for each fetus born dead which is the result of gestation of not less than twenty weeks, or a live birth certificate shall be filed for each fetus born alive regardless of gestational age, as provided in sections 7-48 and 7-60 of the Connecticut General Statutes. If a live born fetus subsequently dies, a death certificate shall be filed as provided in section 7-62b of the Connecticut General Statutes.

(c) All induced abortions after the second trimester as verified by ultrasound, last menstrual period and pelvic exam, shall be done only in a licensed hospital with a department of obstetrics and gynecology and a department of anesthesiology.

(d) All outpatient clinics operated by corporations or municipalities where abortions are performed shall develop standards to control the quality of medical care provided to women having abortions. These standards shall include but not necessarily be limited to:

(1) verification of pregnancy and determination of duration of pregnancy;

(2) pre-operative instruction and counseling;

(3) operative permission and informed consent;

(4) pre-operative history and physical examination;

(5) pre-operative laboratory procedure for blood Rh factor;

(6) prevention of Rh sensitization;

(7) examination of the tissue by a pathologist;

(8) receiving and recovery room facilities;

(9) a standard operating room;

(10) post-operative counseling including family planning; and

(11) a permanent record.

(e) There shall be a mechanism for continuing review to evaluate the quality of records and the quality of clinical work. This review shall include all deaths, complications, infections and such other cases as shall be determined by the chief of the department of obstetrics and gynecology of the hospital or the clinic medical director.

(f) No person shall be required to participate in any phase of an abortion that violates his or her judgment, philosophical, moral or religious beliefs.

(g) If the newborn shows signs of life following an abortion, those measures used to support life in a premature infant shall be employed.

(h) During the third trimester of pregnancy, abortions may be performed only when necessary to preserve the life or health of the expectant mother.

(Effective February 25, 1974; Amended December 30, 1996; Amended August 1, 2005)