{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-311.725","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 311.725","heading":"Requirement of voluntary and informed written consent for abortion --","body":"Cabinet's duty to produce and make available informational materials --\nAbortions in medical emergencies.\n(1) No abortion shall be performed or induced except with the volunt ary and informed\nwritten consent of the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed or\ninduced. Except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to an abortion is\nvoluntary and informed if and only if:\n(a) At least twenty -four (24) hours prior to the  abortion, a physician, licensed\nnurse, physician assistant, or social worker to whom the responsibility has\nbeen delegated by the physician has verbally informed the woman of all of the\nfollowing:\n1. The nature and purpose of the particular abortion proce dure or treatment\nto be performed and of those medical risks and alternatives to the\nprocedure or treatment that a reasonable patient would consider material\nto the decision of whether or not to undergo the abortion;\n2. The probable gestational age of the embryo or fetus at the time the\nabortion is to be performed;\n3. The medical risks associated with the pregnant woman carrying her\npregnancy to term; and\n4. The potential ability of a physician to reverse the effects of prescription\ndrugs intended to induce  abortion, where additional information about\nthis possibility may be obtained, and contact information for assistance\nin locating a physician who may aid in the reversal;\n(b) At least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the abortion, in an individual, private\nsetting, a physician, licensed nurse, physician assistant, or social worker to\nwhom the responsibility has been delegated by the physician has informed the\npregnant woman that:\n1. The cabinet publishes the printed materials described in subsection\n(2)(a), (b), and (c) of this section and that she has a right to review the\nprinted materials and that copies will be provided to her by the\nphysician, licensed nurse, physician assistant, or social worker free of\ncharge if she chooses to review the printed materials;\n2. Medical assistance benefits may be available for prenatal care,\nchildbirth, and neonatal care, and that more detailed information on the\navailability of such assistance is contained in the printed materials\npublished by the cabinet;\n3. The father of the fetus is liable to assist in the support of her child, even\nin instances where he has offered to pay for the abortion; and\n4. It is illegal in Kentucky to intentionally perform an abortion, in whole or\nin part, because of:\na. The sex of the unborn child;\nb. The race, color, or national origin of the unborn child; or\nc. The diagnosis, or potential diagnosis, of Down syndrome or any\nother disability;\n(c) At least twenty -four (24) hours prior to the abortion, a copy of the printed\nmaterials has been provided to the pregnant woman if she chooses to view\nthese materials;\n(d) The pregnant woman certifies in writing, prior to the performance or\ninducement of the abortion:\n1. That she has received the information required to be provided under\nparagraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this subsection; and\n2. That she consents to the particular abortion voluntarily and knowingly,\nand she is not under the influence of any drug of abuse or alcohol; and\n(e) Prior to the performance or inducement of the abortion, the physician who is\nscheduled to perform or induce the abortion or the physician's agent receives a\ncopy of the pregnant woman's signed statement, on a form which may b e\nprovided by the physician, on which she consents to the abortion and that\nincludes the certification required by paragraph (d) of this subsection.\n(2) By January 1, 1999, the cabinet shall cause to be published in English in a typeface\nnot less than 12 point type the following materials:\n(a) Materials that inform the pregnant woman about public and private agencies\nand services that are available to assist her through her pregnancy, upon\nchildbirth, and while her child is dependent, including, but not lim ited to,\nadoption agencies. The materials shall include a comprehensive list of the\navailable agencies and a description of the services offered by the agencies\nand the telephone numbers and addresses of the agencies, and inform the\npregnant woman about available medical assistance benefits for prenatal care,\nchildbirth, and neonatal care and about the support obligations of the father of\na child who is born alive. The cabinet shall ensure that the materials are\ncomprehensive and do not directly or indirect ly promote, exclude, or\ndiscourage the use of any agency or service described in this section;\n(b) Materials that inform the pregnant woman of the probable anatomical and\nphysiological characteristics of the zygote, blastocyte, embryo, or fetus at two\n(2) week gestational increments for the first sixteen (16) weeks of her\npregnancy and at four (4) week gestational increments from the seventeenth\nweek of her pregnancy to full term, including any relevant information\nregarding the time at which the fetus poss ibly would be viable. The materials\nshall use language that is understandable by the average person who is not\nmedically trained, shall be objective and nonjudgmental, and shall include\nonly accurate scientific information about the zygote, blastocyte, emb ryo, or\nfetus at the various gestational increments. The materials shall include, for\neach of the two (2) of four (4) week increments specified in this paragraph, a\npictorial or photographic depiction of the zygote, blastocyte, embryo, or fetus.\nThe materi als shall also include, in a conspicuous manner, a scale or other\nexplanation that is understandable by the average person and that can be used\nto determine the actual size of the zygote, blastocyte, embryo, or fetus at a\nparticular gestational increment a s contrasted with the depicted size of the\nzygote, blastocyte, embryo, or fetus at that gestational increment; and\n(c) Materials that inform the pregnant woman of the potential ability of a\nphysician to reverse the effects of prescription drugs intended to  induce\nabortion, where additional information about this possibility may be obtained,\nand contact information for assistance in locating a physician who may aid in\nthe reversal.\n(3) Upon submission of a request to the cabinet by any person, hospital, phys ician, or\nmedical facility for one (1) or more copies of the materials published in accordance\nwith subsection (2) of this section, the cabinet shall make the requested number of\ncopies of the materials available to the person, hospital, physician, or medi cal\nfacility that requested the copies.\n(4) If a medical emergency or medical necessity compels the performance or\ninducement of an abortion, the physician who will perform or induce the abortion,\nprior to its performance or inducement if possible, shall inform the pregnant woman\nof the medical indications supporting the physician's judgment that an immediate\nabortion is necessary. Any physician who performs or induces an abortion without\nthe prior satisfaction of the conditions specified in subsection (1) of this section\nbecause of a medical emergency or medical necessity shall enter the reasons for the\nconclusion that a medical emergency exists in the medical record of the pregnant\nwoman.\n(5) If the conditions specified in subsection (1) of this section ar e satisfied, consent to\nan abortion shall be presumed to be valid and effective.\n(6) The failure of a physician to satisfy the conditions of subsection (1) of this section\nprior to performing or inducing an abortion upon a pregnant woman may be the\nbasis of disciplinary action pursuant to KRS 311.595.\n(7) The cabinet shall charge a fee for each copy of the materials distributed in\naccordance with subsections (1) and (3) of this section. The fee shall be sufficient to\ncover the cost of the administration of the materials published in accordance with\nsubsection (2) of this section, including the cost of preparation and distribution of\nmaterials.","path":["KRS Chapter 311"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=49366","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:06Z","sha256":"8bf07b8eec8286c271b43703dc3b5a3904fdeca1fe8e64e574d34eda82a4a34e","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-311.724","next":"us-ky/krs-311.726"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}