Bill Text: CA SB201 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 201 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Medical procedures: treatment or intervention: sex characteristics of a minor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB201 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB201-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 201

Introduced by Senator Wiener
(Coauthor: Senator Beall)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chiu, Gloria, McCarty, Quirk, and Ting)

January 31, 2019

An act to add Section 2295 to the Business and Professions Code, and to add Section 6931 to the Family Code, relating to sex characteristics.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 201, as introduced, Wiener. Medical procedures: treatment or intervention: sex characteristics of a minor.

(1) Under existing law, the Medical Practice Act, it is unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to fail to comply with prescribed informed consent requirements relating to various medical procedures, including sterilization procedures, the removal of sperm or ova from a patient under specified circumstances, and the treatment of breast cancer. Any violation of the law relating to enforcement of the Medical Practice Act is a misdemeanor, as specified.

This bill would prohibit a physician and surgeon from performing any treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor if the treatment or intervention may be deferred until the intersex minor can provide informed consent, as described. The bill would, among other things, require a physician and surgeon to provide a written and oral disclosure prior to performing the treatment or intervention and to obtain the informed consent of the intersex minor to the treatment or intervention, as specified. The bill would authorize a physician and surgeon to perform the medical procedure without the minor’s consent if it is medically necessary and the physician and surgeon provides the written and oral disclosure to the parent or guardian and obtains their informed consent, as specified. The bill would authorize the Medical Board of California to develop and adopt medical guidelines to implement these requirements. Any violation of these provisions would be subject to disciplinary action by the board, but not criminal prosecution.

(2) Under existing law, a minor may consent to specified medical procedures without the consent of a parent or guardian.

This bill would authorize an intersex minor to provide informed consent to treatment or intervention on their sex characteristics, as specified.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 2295 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

2295.

(a) Consistent with Senate Concurrent Resolution 110 of the 2017–18 Regular Session (Resolution Chapter 225 of the Statutes of 2018), the Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The Legislature opposes all forms of prejudice, bias, or discrimination and affirms its commitment to the dignity and autonomy of all people, including those born with variations in their physical sex characteristics.

(2) Intersex people are a part of the fabric of our state’s diversity to be celebrated, rather than an aberration to be corrected.

(3) Intersex people should be free to choose whether to undergo life-altering surgeries and other treatments or interventions on their physical sexual characteristics that irreversibly, and sometimes irreparably, cause harm.

(4) The enactment of legislation is necessary to ensure the ability of intersex people to participate in decisions about surgery and other medical treatments or interventions on their physical sex characteristics.

(b) (1) A physician and surgeon shall not perform any treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor if the treatment or intervention may be deferred until the intersex minor can provide informed consent, as described in subdivision (d).

(2) A treatment or intervention includes, but is not limited to, the following procedures:

(A) Clitorectomy, clitoroplasty, clitoral reduction, and clitoral recession, including corporal-sparing procedures.

(B) Gonadectomy, including of testes, ovaries, ovotestes, and streak gonads.

(D) Labiaplasty and labial reduction.

(E) Phalloplasty.

(F) Vaginoplasty, introitoplasty, vaginal exteriorization, and partial or total urogenital sinus mobilization.

(c) Prior to performing a treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor, a physician and surgeon shall provide written and oral disclosure, in nontechnical terms, about all of the following:

(1) A description of the treatment or intervention to be performed, including any necessary healthcare management or long-term follow-up care to be expected following the treatment or intervention.

(2) A description of any attendant discomfort and risks to the patient in the short term and long term, which may reasonably be expected following the treatment or intervention.

(3) An explanation of any benefits that the patient can reasonably expect following the treatment or intervention.

(4) An explanation of any appropriate alternative procedures, drugs, or devices, including delay of the procedure, that might be advantageous to the patient, and their relative risks and benefits.

(5) An offer to answer any inquiries concerning the treatment or intervention involved.

(d) (1) Following the receipt of the written and oral disclosure provided by the physician and surgeon, as described in subdivision (c), the intersex minor shall provide informed consent to the treatment or intervention, which meets all of the following requirements:

(A) The consent shall be in writing and shall contain the following statement: I (name of minor) do hereby consent to (description of medical procedure) to be performed by (name of physician and surgeon) on (date that the medical procedure is performed on the minor).

(B) The consent shall be signed by the minor and by the physician and surgeon who performs the medical procedure.

(C) The consent shall contain a notification to the minor that the written consent is an important document that should be retained with other vital records.

(2) The physician and surgeon shall retain the original consent in the medical record of the minor and give a copy of the consent to the minor.

(3) If the treatment or intervention is performed in a hospital, the physician and surgeon shall provide a copy of the consent to the hospital.

(e) This section does not affect the obligation of a physician and surgeon under current law to obtain the informed consent of a patient before performing a medical procedure on the patient that may significantly affect the patient's reproductive health or ability to conceive, or both.

(f) (1) If the intersex minor is unable to give informed consent, a physician and surgeon shall opine only on the medical necessity of a treatment or intervention.

(2) If a physician and surgeon opines on medical necessity of a treatment or intervention pursuant to subparagraph (1), they shall neither evaluate nor opine on whether a treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor is advisable due to psychosocial factors.

(g) If it is medically necessary to perform a treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor without the consent of the intersex minor, a physician and surgeon may perform the medical procedure only if the physician and surgeon provides the written and oral disclosure, as described in subdivision (c), to the parent or guardian, and the parent or guardian provides informed consent, as described in subdivision (d).

(h) The following definitions apply for purposes of this paragraph:

(1) “Intersex minor” means an individual born with atypical physical sex characteristics, including, but not limited to, chromosomes, genitals, or internal organs, and includes differences in sex development resulting from androgen insensitivity syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and hypospadias.

(2) (A) “Medically necessary” means that the treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor is reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury and cannot be safely deferred.

(B) A medically necessary treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor includes, but is not limited to, a procedure to repair the bladder, a cloacal exstrophy, or any other procedure intended to allow urine to exit the body absent a urethral opening.

(3) “Parent or guardian” has the same meaning as used in Section 6903 of the Family Code.

(4) “Psychosocial” means an individual’s psychological status in relation to their social and physical environment.

(i) The board may develop and adopt medical guidelines to implement this subdivision.

(j) A violation of this section constitutes unprofessional conduct. Section 2314 shall not apply to a violation of this section.

SEC. 2.

Section 6931 is added to the Family Code, to read:

6931.

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 6925, an intersex minor, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 2295 of the Business and Professions Code, may provide informed consent to treatment or intervention on their sex characteristics, pursuant to Section 2295 of the Business and Professions Code.