HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

54

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO REQUIRE THAT MEDICAL CARE PROFESSIONALS PROVIDE information on prenatal screening and testing for down syndrome to all pregnant women.

 

 


     WHEREAS, one in every six hundred ninety-one babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome, accounting for about six thousand babies every year; and

 

     WHEREAS, prenatal screening is an important part of prenatal care for pregnant women and their families; and

 

     WHEREAS, in many cases, pregnant women do not receive all applicable information on the available prenatal screening and testing options, including screening and testing for the three types of Down syndrome known as trisomy 21, translocation, and mosaicism; and

 

     WHEREAS, the national abortion rate for fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome is estimated to be ninety per cent; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 321-331, Hawaii Revised Statutes, authorizes the Department of Health to adopt rules to ensure that all pregnant women are offered appropriate information and services relating to prenatal screening and diagnosis; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is urged to require that applicable medical care professionals provide all pregnant women with information on prenatal Down syndrome screening and testing, risks associated with that screening and testing, and information on where to obtain support if screening and testing reveal that a fetus is diagnosed with Down syndrome; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is urged to collect information on the number of fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome that are aborted and those that are carried to term; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is urged to submit a report to the Legislature, no later than twenty days before the Regular Session of 2016, on the number of pregnancies, since 2010 or when data is available, terminated due to the fetus being diagnosed with Down syndrome and those that are carried to term; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the Chairperson of the Hawaii Medical Board, and the President of the Hawaii Medical Association.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Prenatal Testing; Down Syndrome; Department of Health; Abortion Study; Education; Awareness; Disclosure