Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §557, as amended by PL 1995, c. 110, §2, is repealed.

Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §1402, last ¶, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 292, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §4010, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 733, §18, is repealed.

Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §4013, as amended by PL 1983, c. 343, §2, is further amended to read:

§4013. Mandatory reporting to medical examiner for postmortem

investigation

A person required to report cases of known or suspected abuse or neglect, who knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has died as a result of abuse or neglect, shall report that fact to the appropriate authority as provided in section 3026. A child shall not be considered to be abused or neglected solely because he was provided with treatment by spiritual means by an accredited practitioner of a recognized religious organization.

SUMMARY

This bill repeals the following provisions of law regarding spiritual health care treatment of children:

1. The defense against criminal prosecution for endangerment of the welfare of a child for a person who provides treatment for a child or dependent person by spiritual means through prayer alone;

2. The exemption for health care practitioners who provide treatment by spiritual means alone from the requirement of health care providers to report to the Department of Health and Human Services regarding treatment of persons with cancer;

3. The provision that treatment solely by spiritual means by an accredited practitioner of a recognized religious organization is not considered child abuse or neglect; and

4. The provision regarding mandatory reporting of abuse or neglect to the medical examiner for postmortem investigation that a child who has been treated solely by spiritual means by an accredited practitioner of a recognized religious organization is not considered child abuse or neglect.