As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
- 1. “Abortion” means the termination of a human pregnancy with the intent other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus.
- 2. “Fetal heartbeat” means cardiac activity, the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac.
3. “Fetal heartbeat exception” means any of the following:
- a. The pregnancy is the result of a rape which is reported within forty-five days of the incident to a law enforcement agency or to a public or private health agency which may include a family physician.
- b. The pregnancy is the result of incest which is reported within one hundred forty days of the incident to a law enforcement agency or to a public or private health agency which may include a family physician.
- c. Any spontaneous abortion, commonly known as a miscarriage, if not all of the products of conception are expelled.
- d. The attending physician certifies that the fetus has a fetal abnormality that in the physician’s reasonable medical judgment is incompatible with life.
- 4. “Medical emergency” means the same as defined in section 146A.1.
- 5. “Physician” means a person licensed under chapter 148.
- 6. “Reasonable medical judgment” means a medical judgment made by a reasonably prudent physician who is knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved.
- 7. “Unborn child” means the same as defined in section 146A.1.
2023 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 1, §1, 3