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| To amend section 2907.29 and to enact sections | 1 |
| 3727.60, 3727.601, and 3727.602 of the Revised | 2 |
| Code to establish the Compassionate Assistance for | 3 |
| Rape Emergencies Act regarding hospital services | 4 |
| provided to victims of sexual assault. | 5 |
| Section 1. That section 2907.29 be amended and sections | 6 |
| 3727.60, 3727.601, and 3727.602 of the Revised Code be enacted to | 7 |
| read as follows: | 8 |
| Sec. 2907.29. Every hospital of this state that offers | 9 |
| organized emergency services shall provide that a physician, a | 10 |
| physician assistant, a clinical nurse specialist, a certified | 11 |
| nurse practitioner, or a certified nurse-midwife is available on | 12 |
| call twenty-four hours each day for the examination of persons | 13 |
| reported to any law enforcement agency to be victims of sexual | 14 |
| offenses cognizable as violations of any provision of sections | 15 |
| 2907.02 to 2907.06 of the Revised Code. The physician, physician | 16 |
| assistant, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse | 17 |
| practitioner, or certified nurse-midwife, upon the request of any | 18 |
| peace officer or prosecuting attorney and with the consent of the | 19 |
| reported victim or upon the request of the reported victim, shall | 20 |
| examine the person for the purposes of gathering physical evidence | 21 |
| and shall complete any written documentation of the physical | 22 |
| examination. The public health council shall establish procedures | 23 |
| for gathering evidence under this section. | 24 |
| Each reported victim shall be informed of available
| 25 |
| 26 | |
| psychiatric services in accordance with section 3727.601 of the | 27 |
| Revised Code. | 28 |
| Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a minor may | 29 |
| consent to examination under this section. The consent is not | 30 |
| subject to disaffirmance because of minority, and consent of the | 31 |
| parent, parents, or guardian of the minor is not required for an | 32 |
| examination under this section. However, the hospital shall give | 33 |
| written notice to the parent, parents, or guardian of a minor that | 34 |
| an examination under this section has taken place. The parent, | 35 |
| parents, or guardian of a minor giving consent under this section | 36 |
| are not liable for payment for any services provided under this | 37 |
| section without their consent. | 38 |
| Sec. 3727.60. As used in this section and sections 3727.601 | 39 |
| and 3727.602 of the Revised Code: | 40 |
| (A) "Drug" has the same meaning as in the "Federal Food, | 41 |
| Drug, and Cosmetic Act," 52 Stat. 1040, 1041 (1938), 21 U.S.C. | 42 |
| 321(g)(1), as amended. | 43 |
| (B) "Device" has the same meaning as in the "Federal Food, | 44 |
| Drug, and Cosmetic Act," 52 Stat. 1040, 1041 (1938), 21 U.S.C. | 45 |
| 321(h), as amended. | 46 |
| (C) "Emergency contraception" means any drug, drug regimen, | 47 |
| or device intended to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sexual | 48 |
| intercourse or contraceptive failure. | 49 |
| (D) "Sexual assault" means a violation of sections 2907.02 to | 50 |
| 2907.06 of the Revised Code. | 51 |
| Sec. 3727.601. (A) It shall be the standard of care in this | 52 |
| state for hospitals that offer organized emergency services to | 53 |
| provide the services specified in divisions (B) and (C) of this | 54 |
| section to victims of sexual assault. The services shall be | 55 |
| provided without regard to the ability of the victim to pay for | 56 |
| the services. | 57 |
| (B) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, the | 58 |
| services specified in divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section | 59 |
| shall be provided by the hospital to a victim of sexual assault | 60 |
| who is female and, as determined by the hospital, is of | 61 |
| child-bearing age. | 62 |
| (1) The hospital shall provide the victim with information | 63 |
| about emergency contraception. The information shall be medically | 64 |
| and factually accurate and unbiased. It shall be provided in clear | 65 |
| and concise language in both written and oral formats. The | 66 |
| information shall explain all of the following: | 67 |
| (a) That emergency contraception has been approved by the | 68 |
| United States food and drug administration for use by women of all | 69 |
| ages with a prescription and as an over-the-counter product for | 70 |
| women seventeen years of age or older as a safe and effective | 71 |
| means to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse or | 72 |
| contraceptive failure if used in a timely manner; | 73 |
| (b) That emergency contraception is more effective the sooner | 74 |
| it is used following unprotected sexual intercourse or | 75 |
| contraceptive failure; | 76 |
| (c) That emergency contraception does not cause an abortion | 77 |
| and studies have shown that it does not interrupt an established | 78 |
| pregnancy. | 79 |
| (2) The hospital shall promptly offer emergency contraception | 80 |
| to the victim. The hospital shall promptly provide the emergency | 81 |
| contraception if the victim accepts the offer. | 82 |
| (C) The services specified in divisions (C)(1) to (4) of this | 83 |
| section shall be provided by the hospital to a victim of sexual | 84 |
| assault who is female, regardless of whether the victim is of | 85 |
| child-bearing age, and to a victim of sexual assault who is male. | 86 |
| (1) The hospital shall promptly provide the victim with an | 87 |
| assessment of the victim's risk of contracting sexually | 88 |
| transmitted infections, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, | 89 |
| and hepatitis. The assessment shall be conducted by a physician, | 90 |
| physician assistant, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse | 91 |
| practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, or registered nurse. The | 92 |
| assessment shall be based on both of the following: | 93 |
| (a) The available information regarding the sexual assault; | 94 |
| (b) The established standards of risk assessment, including | 95 |
| consideration of any recommendations established by the United | 96 |
| States centers for disease control and prevention, peer-reviewed | 97 |
| clinical studies, and appropriate research using in vitro and | 98 |
| nonhuman primate models of infection. | 99 |
| (2) After conducting the assessment, the hospital shall | 100 |
| provide the victim with counseling concerning the significantly | 101 |
| prevalent sexually transmitted infections for which effective | 102 |
| postexposure treatment exists and for which deferral of treatment | 103 |
| would either significantly reduce treatment efficacy or pose | 104 |
| substantial risk to the victim's health, including the infections | 105 |
| for which prophylactic treatment is recommended based on | 106 |
| guidelines from the centers for disease control and prevention. | 107 |
| The counseling shall be provided by a physician, physician | 108 |
| assistant, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse | 109 |
| practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, or registered nurse. The | 110 |
| counseling shall be provided in clear and concise language. | 111 |
| (3) After providing the counseling, the hospital shall offer | 112 |
| treatment for sexually transmitted infections to the victim. The | 113 |
| hospital shall provide the treatment if the victim accepts the | 114 |
| offer. | 115 |
| (4) Before the victim leaves the hospital, the hospital shall | 116 |
| provide the victim with counseling on the physical and mental | 117 |
| health benefits of seeking follow-up care from the victim's | 118 |
| primary care physician or from another medical care provider | 119 |
| capable of providing follow-up care to victims of sexual assault. | 120 |
| The counseling shall include information on local organizations | 121 |
| and relevant health providers capable of providing either | 122 |
| follow-up medical care or other health services to victims of | 123 |
| sexual assault. The counseling shall be provided by a physician, | 124 |
| physician assistant, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse | 125 |
| practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, or registered nurse. The | 126 |
| counseling shall be provided in clear and concise language. | 127 |
| (D) In the case of minors, the services specified in this | 128 |
| section shall be provided at the discretion of the treating | 129 |
| physician and in accordance with the guidelines of the centers for | 130 |
| disease control and prevention. | 131 |
| Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a minor may | 132 |
| consent to the services specified in this section. The consent is | 133 |
| not subject to disaffirmance because of minority, and consent of | 134 |
| the parent, parents, or guardian of the minor is not required for | 135 |
| the services to be provided. The parent, parents, or guardian of a | 136 |
| minor giving consent under this section are not liable for payment | 137 |
| for any services provided under this section without their | 138 |
| consent. | 139 |
| (E) In either of the following cases, a hospital is not | 140 |
| required to provide information about emergency contraception, to | 141 |
| offer emergency contraception, or to provide emergency | 142 |
| contraception to a victim of sexual assault who is female and, as | 143 |
| determined by the hospital, is of child-bearing age: | 144 |
| (1) The hospital is aware that the victim is incapable of | 145 |
| becoming pregnant. | 146 |
| (2) The hospital is aware that the victim is pregnant. | 147 |
| If the hospital has a pregnancy test performed to confirm | 148 |
| whether the victim is pregnant, the hospital shall have the test | 149 |
| performed in such a manner that the results of the test are made | 150 |
| available to the victim during the initial visit to the hospital | 151 |
| regarding the sexual assault. | 152 |
| (F) Nothing in this section shall be construed as meaning any | 153 |
| of the following: | 154 |
| (1) That a hospital is required to provide treatment to a | 155 |
| victim of sexual assault if the treatment goes against | 156 |
| recommendations established by the centers for disease control and | 157 |
| prevention; | 158 |
| (2) That a victim of sexual assault is required to submit to | 159 |
| any testing or treatment; | 160 |
| (3) That a hospital is prohibited from seeking reimbursement | 161 |
| for the costs of services provided under this section from the | 162 |
| victim's health insurance or from medicaid, if applicable, and to | 163 |
| the extent permitted by section 2907.28 of the Revised Code. | 164 |
| Sec. 3727.602. In addition to other remedies under common | 165 |
| law, an individual may file a complaint with the department of | 166 |
| health if the individual believes a hospital has failed to comply | 167 |
| with the requirements of section 3727.601 of the Revised Code. The | 168 |
| department shall investigate the complaint in a timely manner. | 169 |
| If the department determines that a hospital has failed to | 170 |
| provide the services required by section 3727.601 of the Revised | 171 |
| Code to a victim of sexual assault, the department shall, pursuant | 172 |
| to an adjudication under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, impose | 173 |
| a civil penalty of not less than ten thousand dollars for each | 174 |
| violation. | 175 |
| If the hospital has previously violated section 3727.601 of | 176 |
| the Revised Code, the department may ask the attorney general to | 177 |
| bring an action for injunctive relief in any court of competent | 178 |
| jurisdiction. On the filing of an appropriate petition in the | 179 |
| court, the court shall conduct a hearing on the petition. If it is | 180 |
| demonstrated in the proceedings that the hospital has failed to | 181 |
| provide the services, the court shall grant a temporary or | 182 |
| permanent injunction enjoining the hospital's operation. | 183 |
| Section 2. That existing section 2907.29 of the Revised Code | 184 |
| is hereby repealed. | 185 |
| Section 3. This act shall be known as the "Compassionate | 186 |
| Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act." | 187 |