{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-311.723","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 311.723","heading":"When physician may perform action that separates woman from her","body":"unborn child -- Guidelines.\n(1) No action that requires separating a pregnant woman from her unborn child shall be\nperformed, except the following when performed by a physician b ased upon his or\nher reasonable medical judgment:\n(a) A medical procedure performed with the intent to save the life or preserve the\nhealth of an unborn child;\n(b) Lifesaving miscarriage management, which includes medically necessary\ninterventions when the  pregnancy has ended or is in the unavoidable and\nuntreatable process of ending due to spontaneous or incomplete miscarriage;\n(c) Sepsis and hemorrhage emergency medical interventions required when a\nmiscarriage or impending miscarriage results in a life -threatening infection or\nexcessive bleeding;\n(d) A medically necessary intervention, inducement, or delivery for the removal\nof a dead child from the uterine cavity, when documented in the woman's\nmedical record along with the results of an obstetric ultras ound test,\nconfirming that fetal cardiac activity is not present at a gestational age when it\nshould be present;\n(e) The removal of an ectopic pregnancy or a pregnancy that is not implanted\nnormally within the endometrial cavity;\n(f) The use of methotrexate or similar medications to treat an ectopic pregnancy;\n(g) The removal of a molar pregnancy;\n(h) A medical procedure necessary based on reasonable medical judgment to\nprevent the death or substantial risk of death of the pregnant woman due to a\nphysical c ondition, or to prevent serious, permanent impairment of a life -\nsustaining organ of a pregnant woman. However, the physician shall make\nreasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of\nthe mother and the life of the unborn ch ild in a manner consistent with\nreasonable medical practice; or\n(i) Medical treatment provided to the mother by a licensed physician, which\nresults in the accidental or unintentional injury or death of the unborn human\nbeing.\n(2) No treatment or procedure authorized under subsection (1) of this section shall be\nperformed except in compliance with regulations which the cabinet shall\npromulgate to ensure that:\n(a) 1. Before the treatment or procedure is performed, the pregnant woman\nshall have a private medical consultation either with the physician who\nis to provide the treatment or perform the procedure or with the referring\nphysician in a place, at a time and of a duration reasonably sufficient to\nenable the physician to determine whether, based upon his or her\nreasonable medical judgment, the action is necessary;\n2. The physician shall document in the pregnant woman's medical record\nthe pregnant woman's informed consent to the treatment or procedure\nfollowing a discussion, acknowle dged in writing by the woman, of the\nrisks, benefits, and alternatives to the treatment or procedure, sufficient\nin scope for a reasonable person to make an informed decision;\n(b) The physician who is to provide the treatment or perform the procedure or th e\nreferring physician will describe the basis for his or her reasonable medical\njudgment that the action is necessary on a form prescribed by the cabinet as\nrequired by KRS 213.101; and\n(c) 1. Paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not apply when, in the r easonable\nmedical judgment of the attending physician based on the particular\nfacts of the case before him or her, there exists a medical emergency. In\nthe case of a medical emergency, the physician shall describe the basis\nof his or her reasonable medical judgment that an emergency exists on a\nform prescribed by the cabinet as required by KRS 213.101; and\n2. If an emergency exists which limits the time available for\ndocumentation or the scope of the informed consent discussion, the\nphysician shall endeavor to complete the requirements of this subsection\nto the extent possible without undue risk to the woman's life or health\nand shall promptly complete any required documentation when the\nemergency no longer exists.\n(3) Notwithstanding any statute to the cont rary, nothing in this chapter shall be\nconstrued as prohibiting a physician from prescribing or a woman from using birth\ncontrol methods or devices, including, but not limited to, intrauterine devices, oral\ncontraceptives, or any other birth control method or device.\n(4) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as permitting any violation of KRS\n311.772.","path":["KRS Chapter 311"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56019","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:06Z","sha256":"9df8759c128e852a472dde55b9d51cf8260bd506832c87248bc4474ede107a76","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-311.720","next":"us-ky/krs-311.724"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}