Relating to assisted reproduction fraud, and providing penalties

This bill creates the fraud in assisted reproduction Act. The bill provides definitions for the purposes of the bill including “assisted reproduction”, “donor”, “gamete”, “health care professional”, “health facility”, “human reproductive material”, “patient”, and “physician”. The bill prohibits a person from engaging in a practice or act the person knows or reasonably should have known provides false information to a patient related to an assisted reproduction procedure or treatment. The bill prohibits a physician or a health facility from knowingly or intentionally using or providing a patient with human reproductive material for assisted reproduction other than that to which the patient expressly consented in writing and from using or providing a patient with human reproductive material for assisted reproduction that is not provided with the donor’s consent or in a manner or to an extent other than that to which the donor consented. A person that engages in a practice or act the person knows or reasonably should have known provides false information to a patient related to an assisted reproduction procedure or treatment is guilty of a class “D” felony, punishable by the applicable maximum years of confinement and maximum fine. A class “D” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but not more than $10,245. A physician or health facility that uses or provides a patient with human reproductive material for assisted reproduction other than that to which the patient expressly consented in writing or that is not provided with the donor’s consent or in a manner or to an extent other than that to which the donor consented, is guilty of a class “C” felony, punishable by the applicable maximum years of confinement and maximum fine. A class “C” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than years and a fine of at least $1,370 but not more than $13,660. It is not a defense to a violation of these provisions of the bill that a patient expressly consented in writing to the use of human reproductive material from an anonymous donor. A violation of these provisions of the bill by a physician, health care professional, or health facility is grounds for denial of an application for, denial of renewal of, or revocation of any license, permit, certification, or any other form of permission required to practice a profession or to establish, conduct, or maintain a facility regulated by the state. A violation of these provisions of the bill by a physician or health care professional constitutes unprofessional conduct subjecting a licensee to discipline which may include revocation or suspension of a license. The bill provides for a private cause of action to be brought for compensatory and punitive damages against any person that engaged in a prohibited practice or act in violation of the bill. A cause of action may be brought by the patient who conceives or conceives and gives birth to a child conceived through assisted reproduction in violation of the bill; the spouse of a patient at the time the patient utilized assisted reproduction services, if the patient conceives or conceives and gives birth to a child conceived through assisted reproduction in violation of the bill; a child born as the result of being conceived through assisted reproduction in violation of the bill; or a donor whose human reproductive material resulted in the conception or conception and birth of a child conceived through assisted reproduction in violation of bill or whose human reproductive material was used without the donor’s consent or in a manner or to an extent other than that to which the donor consented. A patient or the spouse of a patient has a separate cause of action for each conception or conception and birth of a child resulting from assisted reproduction performed on the patient in violation of the bill. A donor has a separate cause of action for each conception or conception and birth of a child conceived through assisted reproduction in violation of the bill using the donor’s human reproductive material, and for each instance in which the donor’s human reproductive material was used without the donor’s consent or in a manner or to an extent other than that to which the donor consented. In addition to any compensatory and punitive damages awarded, the court shall award the prevailing plaintiff the costs of any applicable fertility treatments, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees. The bill provides statutes of limitations applicable to an action brought to address violations of these provisions of the bill. Under the bill, an action may be brought within years after the 18th birthday of a child conceived through assisted reproduction as the result of a violation of the bill, or if this provision does not apply, within years from the date the procedure resulting in the conception through assisted reproduction in violation of the bill was performed.1; the date the person bringing the action first discovers the existence of a recording that provides evidence sufficient to bring an action against the defendant; or the date the defendant admits to the facts giving rise to the action. The bill does not prohibit a person from pursuing any other remedy provided by law. The bill also provides that a physician commits sexual abuse in the third degree when the physician implants the physician’s own human reproductive material through assisted reproduction without the patient’s prior knowledge and written consent. Sexual abuse in the third degree is also a class “C” felony. The bill provides that under Code chapter 692A (sex offender registry), sexual abuse in the third degree when a physician violates the bill by implanting the physician’s own human reproductive material through assisted reproduction without the patient’s prior knowledge and without consent is a tier III sex offense for purposes of required registration on the sex offender registry.2 provide that an information or indictment for sexual abuse in the third degree committed on or with a person who is under the age of years may be commenced at any time after the commission of the offense; or within years after its commission, or if the person against whom the information or indictment is sought is identified through the use of a DNA profile, within three years from the date the person is identified by the person’s DNA profile, whichever is later.