IA Addresses Shortage of Birth Centers & AL Advancing Higher Age Threshold for Consent to Medical Care

IA Enacts Law Addressing Shortage of Birth Centers

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed a bill (HF 887) exempting freestanding birth centers from having to obtain a certificate of need from the state’s Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing to operate. Birthing services are currently in short supply in the state, with at least 41 hospitals, mostly in rural areas, having closed their labor and delivery units since 2000. (CEDAR RAPIDS GAZETTE)

Bill Raising Age of Consent for Medical Care Nears Passage in AL

Alabama’s House Committee on Health approved a bill (SB 101), already passed by the Senate, that would raise the age at which minors could make their own medical decisions from 14 to 16. The measure provides exceptions for individuals who are married, divorced, pregnant, emancipated or living independently from their parents or legal guardian. (AL.COM, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

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