Healthcare (Women's Health)

ACR 99 proposes a constitutional amendment to allow New Jersey's Legislature to require parental notification before minors receive pregnancy-related medical care, including procedures or treatments. This would directly affect unemancipated minors seeking such care, overriding a 2000 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that struck down similar parental notification laws as unconstitutional. The amendment specifically aims to permit mandatory parental notice for all pregnancy-related medical services, not just abortion, regardless of existing constitutional privacy rights. If approved by voters, it would enable lawmakers to pass laws requiring parents be notified before their minor children undergo these procedures.

This bill bans most abortions after 20 weeks following fertilization (conception), requiring physicians to determine the unborn child's post-fertilization age before performing an abortion. It directly affects women seeking abortions after 20 weeks and physicians who perform such procedures. Key exceptions allow abortions for: (1) life-threatening medical conditions of the pregnant person; (2) rape (if reported to authorities and 48-hour counseling is obtained); or (3) incest involving minors (if reported). If an abortion occurs under an exception and the child survives, the bill requires a neonatal care specialist to be present to provide life-saving care.

This bill (A 3181) prohibits using cadaveric fetal tissue obtained from elective abortions for any research and bans using any cadaveric fetal tissue to research cosmetic treatments. It specifically allows research using tissue from miscarriages or stillbirths but does not affect existing bans on buying or selling fetal tissue. The bill also requires physicians treating infertility patients to provide written information about embryo disposition options and document patient acknowledgment in medical records. These changes apply to research institutions and healthcare providers in New Jersey conducting such studies.

S 1308, the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on fertilization timing. It directly affects pregnant people seeking abortions beyond this point and healthcare providers performing them. Exceptions allow abortions if the pregnancy endangers the woman’s life, or if the pregnancy resulted from rape (with reporting requirements) or incest involving a minor. The bill requires physicians to determine the unborn child’s probable age before an abortion and mandates neonatal care if a child survives an abortion under an exception. This legislation would take effect if passed, altering abortion access in New Jersey after 20 weeks.