§ 31-9A-4 - Information to be made available by the Department of Community Health; format requirements; availability; requirements for website - Georgia Statutes

O.C.G.A. 31-9A-4 (2010)
31-9A-4. Information to be made available by the Department of Community Health; format requirements; availability; requirements for website

(a) The Department of Community Health shall cause to be published in English and in each language which is the primary language of 2 percent or more of the state's population and shall cause to be available on the state website provided for in subsection (d) of this Code section the following printed materials in such a way as to ensure that the information is easily comprehensible:

(1) Geographically indexed materials designed to inform the female of public and private agencies and services available to assist a female through pregnancy, upon childbirth, and while the child is dependent, including adoption agencies, which shall include a comprehensive list of the agencies available, a description of the services they offer, and a description of the manner, including telephone numbers and website addresses, in which they might be contacted or, at the option of such department, printed materials including a toll-free, 24 hour telephone number which may be called to obtain, orally or by a tape recorded message tailored to the ZIP Code entered by the caller, such a list and description of agencies in the locality of the caller and of the services they offer;

(1.1) Geographically indexed materials designed to inform the female of public and private facilities and services available to assist a female with obtaining an ultrasound which shall include a comprehensive list of the facilities available, a description of the services they offer, and a description of the manner, including telephone numbers and website addresses, in which they might be contacted or, at the option of such department, printed materials including a toll-free, 24 hour telephone number which may be called to obtain, orally or by a tape recorded message tailored to the ZIP Code entered by the caller, such a list and description of facilities in the locality of the caller and of the services they offer;

(2) Materials designed to inform the female of the probable anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child at two-week gestational increments from the time when a female can be known to be pregnant to full term, including any relevant information on the possibility of the unborn child's survival and pictures representing the development of unborn children at two-week gestational increments, provided that any such pictures must contain the dimensions of the fetus and must be factually accurate for the stage of pregnancy depicted. The materials shall be objective, nonjudgmental, and designed to convey only factually accurate scientific information about the unborn child at the various gestational ages. The material shall also contain objective information describing the methods of abortion procedures commonly employed, the medical risks commonly associated with each such procedure, the possible detrimental psychological effects of abortion, and the medical risks commonly associated with carrying a child to term; and

(3) Materials with the following statement concerning unborn children of 20 weeks' or more gestational age:
"By 20 weeks' gestation, the unborn child has the physical structures necessary to experience pain. There is evidence that by 20 weeks' gestation unborn children seek to evade certain stimuli in a manner which in an infant or an adult would be interpreted to be a response to pain. Anesthesia is routinely administered to unborn children who are 20 weeks' gestational age or older who undergo prenatal surgery."

The materials shall be objective, nonjudgmental, and designed to convey only accurate scientific information about the unborn child at the various gestational ages.

(b) The materials referred to in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be printed in a typeface large enough to be clearly legible. All pictures and print appearing on the website shall be clearly legible. All information and pictures shall be accessible with an industry standard browser, requiring no additional plug-ins.

(c) The materials required under this Code section shall be available at no cost from the Department of Community Health upon request and in a reasonably appropriate number to any person, facility, or hospital.

(d) The Department of Community Health shall develop and maintain a secure Internet website to provide the information described in this Code section. No information regarding who uses the website shall be collected or maintained. The Department of Community Health shall monitor the website on a weekly basis to prevent and correct tampering.