GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

S	1 

SENATE BILL 122

Short Title:  Teen Pregnancy Legislation.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Martin of Guilford; Tally and Smith.
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Referred to:  Children and Youth.
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February 6, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE COUNSELING AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES TO ADOLESCENT PARENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND FOR ADOLESCENTS THAT TERMINATE THEIR PREGNANCIES AND TO PROVIDE FAMILY-ORIENTED PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFICATION OF PREGNANCY TERMINATION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Article 3 of Chapter 108A of the General Statutes is amended by adding  new sections to read:
"§ 108A-74. Adolescent pregnancy programs; purpose.
It is the intent of the General Assembly and the purpose of this Article to create within the Department of Social Services a system of educational and counseling services to adolescent parents and their families that will encourage  behaviors and the utilization of resources most likely to reduce subsequent adolescent pregnancies and to provide the parents and their children with the best opportunities to be productive and contributing members of society.  It is the further intent of the General Assembly and the further purpose of this Article to create a pattern of notification of intended termination of an adolescent minor's pregnancy that will both encourage preservation of the healthy family unit and protect the minor from family harm if the particular family unit is determined by the court to be unhealthy for the minor.
For purposes of this Article, ‘minor' means an unemancipated  minor, one who is under 18, and who has not been married or has not been emancipated pursuant to Article 56 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes.  For purposes of G.S. 108A-74.2, ‘parent'  implies ‘parents', ‘guardian', or ‘guardians,' if appropriate, except in the cases in which a divorce or separation has resulted in one parent being designated by court order as the custodial parent and the issue is either whether to return the minor to the custody of her parent or whether parental consent for an abortion is required.  In these cases ‘parent' means ‘custodial parent'.
"§ 108A-74.1. Program for counselors of adolescent parents and their families and for adolescents who chose to terminate their pregnancies.
(a)	The Division of Social Services shall establish a program and curriculum designed to prepare counselors and other appropriate personnel for counseling adolescent fathers and mothers and their families and adolescents who chose to terminate their pregnancies in a manner that is likely to:
(1)	Positively change behavior consistent with reducing subsequent pregnancies;
(2)	Prepare the mother and father for healthy and productive life-styles;
(3)	Encourage the mother and father to maximize their education, job, and citizenship skills;
(4)	Prepare all parties for positive and healthy family interaction and communication; and
(5)	Better inform the mother and father relative to parenting skills.
(b)	The Division of Social Services may contract with public schools, with State institutions of higher education, including those of the Department of Community Colleges, with private and independent colleges and universities, and with private, nonprofit community organizations, to conduct the program and curriculum created by this section.
"§ 108A-74.2. Services and procedures for pregnant minors and their families.
	(a) Minors at least 17 years of age shall be subject to the following requirements:
(1)	Parental Notice. No parental notice is required for a minor at least 17 years of age to have an abortion. The Division and county departments of social services shall undertake appropriate measures to ensure that any provider of services, advice, or counseling to a minor related to her pregnancy shall advise and encourage her to consult with her parent.  Any such providers of services shall inform the pregnant minor how to contact the Division or the county department of social services, and shall offer assistance in making the initial contact.
(2)	Parental Custody. The Division shall ensure that a pregnant minor who is 17 years of age or older is notified that she can request the Division that she not be returned to her parent's custody pending the abortion under the procedure provided in subsection (b) of this section.  
(3)	Parental Consent. No parental consent is required for a minor at least 17 years of age to have an abortion.
	(b) Minors at least 15 years of age but less than 17 years of age shall be subject to the following requirements:
(1)	Parental Notice. In the event that the Division or any representative of any county department of social services is notified that a minor under the age of 17 intends to have an abortion, the Division or the county department shall notify the minor's parent of the minor's intent to have an abortion. The Division shall execute an acknowledgement that parental notification has occurred, and if the minor decides to proceed with the abortion, the Division shall send this acknowledgement to the medical provider performing the abortion.
(2)	Parental Custody. The Division shall ensure that the pregnant minor who is 15 years of age or older is notified that she can request the Division that she not be returned to her parent's custody pending the abortion. The Division shall handle this request expeditiously. The Division shall grant the request only if it finds that:
a.	Her parent would be likely to cause her significant physical or emotional harm, or that there is a history of child abuse or neglect by the parent;
b.	Upon the minor's return to her parent's custody, the father of the minor's child is likely to be a resident of the same household as is the minor, or he is likely to have access to the same household to the extent that this access could be detrimental to the minor's interest; or
c.	The medical consequences of the minor's returning to her parent's custody would be detrimental to the minor's health.
Upon such a finding, the Division shall notify the parent pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, if required, that the Division intends to retain custody of the minor pending a decision whether an abortion shall be performed or pending the performance of the abortion.  This notification shall be made personally  or through the office of the sheriff in the county in which the parent resides.  The parent has the right to initiate a hearing before the clerk of court to require parental consent prior to the abortion.
(3)	Parental Consent. Within two working days after they receive notice as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the parent of a minor at least 15 years of age but less than 17 years of age may initiate a hearing before the clerk of court in the county in which the parent resides to require parental consent to the abortion. This hearing shall be conducted within five working days of the filing of the petition for hearing with the clerk of court. The only issues for consideration before the clerk of court shall be the maturity and mental competency of the pregnant minor. If the clerk of court finds that she is not sufficiently mature, or if he finds that she is mentally incompetent, the abortion cannot be performed without the written consent of the parent unless the Division demonstrates to the clerk of court that:
a.	The minor's parent would be likely to cause her significant physical or emotional harm or that there is a history of child abuse or neglect by either parent; or
b.	The pregnancy arose from incest.
In these two cases, consent is not required. If the clerk of court determines that the minor is sufficiently mature and is mentally competent, or if the parent does not petition for a hearing, the minor may proceed to have the abortion. In those cases, the Division shall execute an acknowledgement that the parental consent requirement has been waived and that the parent has been notified. The Division shall deliver the acknowledgement to the medical provider performing the abortion. Receipt of the acknowledgement is sufficient for a medical provider to proceed with the abortion, pursuant to G.S. 90-21.5.
	(c) Minors less than 15 years of age shall fulfill the following requirements:
(1)	Parental Notice. In the event that the Division or any representative of any county department of social services is notified that a minor under the age of 15 intends to have an abortion, the Division or the county department shall notify the minor's parent of the minor's intent to have an abortion and comply with the other procedures set out in subdivision (b)(1) of this section.
(2)	Parental Custody. The procedure for removal from parental custody set out in subdivision (b)(2) of this section is not available to a minor under the age of 15.
(3)	Parental Consent. The Division shall ensure that, if the minor is less than 15 years of age, consent of her parent is required as prescribed by G.S. 90-21.5 before the abortion is performed. However, as set out in G.S. 90-21.5, parental consent is not required if the Division demonstrates to the Clerk of Court that:
a.	The minor's parent would be likely to cause her significant physical or emotional harm or that there is a history of child abuse or neglect by either parent; or
b.	The pregnancy arose from incest.
	(d) In all cases in which a minor's pregnancy is known to the Division of Social Services or any county department of social services, the Division shall provide all reasonable opportunities for the pregnant minor and her parents to confer about the pregnancy and the options, shall offer assistance by its personnel, or other persons, and shall offer facilities at which the conference can occur, when appropriate.  The Division shall provide these opportunities and services regardless of whether the minor returns home or remains in the custody of the Division.  The Division shall ensure that all persons, organizations, or agencies known to it or to any county department of social services to be advising any pregnant minor, consulting with her, or making services available to her relative to abortion are provided with the particulars of G.S. 90-21.5, and shall encourage the minor to discuss the matter with her parents.
"§ 108A-74.3. Education, health, and other programs for adolescent parents and children.
The Division of Social Services shall establish and administer programs and services for adolescent parents and children to provide opportunities, educational and other, to adolescent parents and children, to enable all parties involved to become productive and contributing members of society, to reduce the number of subsequent pregnancies to the same adolescent parents, and to break the cycle of poverty for many economically or socially disadvantaged youth.
	These programs shall include:
(1)	Educational opportunities for the mother and father to advance, through vocational and technical training or through a four year institution of higher education, and assistance in encouraging and preparing them to take advantage of these opportunities.  These educational opportunities shall include payment of tuition and fees and a stipend of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month during two years of continuous enrollment at one of the State's Community Colleges, at one of the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina, or at one of the State's private and independent colleges and universities accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, provided that the student participates in a Division approved program of counseling, parenting, and educational and citizenship education while enrolled.  The institution shall receive tuition and fees payment from the Division upon certification of enrollment.  This certification shall be done quarterly or per semester depending on the institution.  Stipends shall be paid directly to the student as long as the student's certification from the institution remains current;
(2)	Health care for the mother and her child, including prenatal care and annual physicals for preventive purposes; and
(3)	Child care and early childhood development that is adequate and appropriate  to enhance the chances that the child will have meaningful future opportunities.
	The Department of Human Resources shall adopt rules to administer these programs consistent with the Adolescent Parenting Program model.  Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Human Resources, Division of Social Services, for these programs each fiscal year,  the Division shall ensure that sufficient funds are allocated to county departments of social services to create and improve linkages between educational institutions, employers, community organizations, and counseling services, so that these parents can have adequate opportunities to develop to their full potential, and so that these county departments of social services can purchase needed services from other agencies."
Sec. 2.  (a) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Human Resources, Division of Social Services, the sum of four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($450,000) for the 1989-90 fiscal year and the sum of five million five hundred thousand dollars ($5,500,000) for the 1990-91 fiscal year to fund Section 1 of this act.  The funds appropriated for the 1989-90 fiscal year shall be used for planning for and for the initial implementation of this act.  Of the funds appropriated to the Division of Social Services for the 1990-91 fiscal year,  the Division shall: 
(1)	Use three million dollars ($3,000,000) for the programs established pursuant to G.S. 108A-74.3, as  enacted by this act; and
(2)	Allocate two million dollars ($2,000,000) to the county departments of social services to implement this act, according to the following formula:
a.	One-third to be allocated among the counties according to the percentage of previous adolescent pregnancies occurring within each county during the last two full years preceding the fiscal year in which the appropriation is made for which data are available;
b.	One-third to be allocated among the counties according to the percentage of low birth weight or premature births born to adolescents during the same period; and
c.	One-third to be allocated based on the counties' poverty rate as determined by the most recent United States Census Data.
(b) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Justice Department the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for the 1990-91 fiscal year, for the Administrative Office of the Courts, to cover the additional expenses incurred by the offices of the clerks of court in implementing this act.
Sec. 3.  G.S. 90-21.5 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( c)	No physician licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina shall perform an abortion upon an unemancipated minor unless the physician or the physician's agent or another physician or physician's agent receives an executed acknowledgement from the Division of Social Services that the minor's parents have been notified, if required, that the parents have consented, if required, or that the parents' consent has been waived and that the parents have been notified, if required.  The acknowledgments the physician shall receive prior to the performing of an abortion are those prescribed by G.S.108A-74.2 and set out in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection.  If an unemancipated minor, defined for purposes of this section as a person under the age of 18 who has not been married or has not been emancipated pursuant to Article 56 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes seeks advice or counseling regarding abortion, or an abortion, from any such physician, the physician shall notify the minor that she should consult with the Division or with her county department of social services about the programs available to her and her family and about the need for written acknowledgements from the Division should she desire to have an abortion.
	The physician shall notify her that:
(1)	If she is less than 15 years of age, she shall have her parents' consent to the abortion, as evidenced to the physician by a written acknowledgment from the Division of Social Services, unless she receives a waiver pursuant to G.S. 108A-74.2, in which case she shall have a written acknowledgement delivered to the physician by the Division that her parents have been notified of her intent to have an abortion, pursuant to G.S. 108A-74.2 but that parental consent is not required;
(2)	If she is at least 15 years of age but less than 17, she shall have a written acknowledgement delivered to the physician from the Division that her parents have been notified of her intent to have an abortion and that parental consent has not been required as a result of the hearing prescribed pursuant to G.S. 108A-74.2(b) and available for parents of minors of at least 15 years of age but less that 17 years of age, who seek to demonstrate that the minor is not sufficiently mature or mentally competent to have an abortion without parental consent.
	The requirements of receipt of Division of Social Services' acknowledgement of parental notification and consent shall not apply when, in the best medical judgment of the physician based on the facts of the case before him, a medical emergency exists that so complicates the pregnancy as to require an immediate abortion, or when the conditions prescribed in G.S.90-21.1(4) are met.  Any person who intentionally performs an abortion with knowledge that, or with reckless disregard as to whether, the person upon whom the abortion is to be performed is a minor, and who intentionally or knowingly fails to conform, to any requirement of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor."
Sec. 4.  This act shall become effective July 1, 1989.