Sponsor Statement for SS for HB 372
An Act Placing Limits on Prescribing and Providing a Contraceptive Drug or Device to a Minor
SSHB 372 asserts that physicians must make a good faith effort to obtain relevant medical history and notify parents of their intent before prescribing contraceptive drugs or devices.
It is a time-honored policy within the medical profession to inquire about a patient’s medical background before issuing a prescription drug. This is especially important because certain contraceptive drugs can have serious medical consequences if the hereditary facts are not known.
Presently, women with congenital heart disorders cannot take "the Pill" without risking further complications. In addition, this condition is not usually detectable until a person reaches 19 years of age, making the patients family medical history of specific concern. For an unsuspecting doctor to prescribe the Pill to a teenager could have serious, and perhaps even fatal, consequences.
SS for HB 372 helps to provide children protection from unintended consequences.
Last updated 03-30-98
Sponsor Statement for HB 372
"An Act placing limits on prescribing and providing a contraceptive drug or device to a minor."
Alaskan families feel besieged as they try to manage and raise their children. The issue of third parties being able to perform medical services to an unemancipated minor is firmly established in our traditions and only recently has it been challenged. The question of providing required emergency services has been settled in law and in court.
The more recent battle grounds have been in the area of birth control services. Last year the legislature passed legislation requiring parental consent for elective abortions and that will be tested in court. HB 372 further defends the rights of parents by asserting, in Alaska State law, that a physician may not issue prescription birth control devices or prescriptions to a minor unless: