Human Resources Committee Report – week 10, 2017

SF 250—Mammogram notifications
SF 471—20-week abortion ban
SF 479–Dental hygienists educational activities

FLOOR ACTION

SF 250 requires facilities providing mammography services to include information on breast density in mammography reports sent to patients pursuant to federal law, if the patient is categorized as having heterogeneously dense breasts or extremely dense breasts, according to national guidelines. The bill clarifies that nothing in this bill impacts existing mammography facility liabilities beyond the notice requirement.
[3/14: 49-0 (Horn excused)]

 

SF 471 amends Iowa Code Chapter 707.7: Feticide. Currently, a human pregnancy cannot be terminated after the end of the second trimester, unless the termination is to preserve the life or health of the mother or fetus. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says the second trimester ends at 27 weeks, 6 days. SF 471 changes the timing to 20 weeks post-fertilization or viability whichever occurs first, but allows a narrow exception between weeks 20-24 if the fetus has a lethal fetal anomaly, which means the child will most likely die or need life-sustaining treatment for the duration of the child’s life. SF 471 also narrows the “life or health of the mother or fetus” exception language to only preserving the life of the mom or fetus, or to “avert a serious risk to the pregnant person of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.”
[3/14: 32-17 party-line vote with D Johnson, Bowman and Kinney yes (Horn excused)]

 

SF 479 allows dental hygienists to perform certain educational functions without supervision by a dentist, including teaching the importance of dental care at schools and nursing homes.
[3/13: 49-0 (Bertrand excused)]