Bill 225 explained in plain English
Harvey and Gurvir's Law (Provision of Information Respecting Down Syndrome), 2020
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Harvey and Gurvir's Law requires the Ontario Minister to provide up-to-date information on Down syndrome to the public and health professionals, and obligates health professionals to share this information and observe a 48-hour waiting period before recommending further testing or treatment after a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis.
This bill, known as Harvey and Gurvir's Law, amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. It requires the Minister to ensure that up-to-date, evidence-based written information about Down syndrome is made available to the public and regulated health professionals. This information must cover life expectancy, development, education, and psychosocial outcomes, as well as resources for families and community supports. The Minister must consult with experts and advocacy groups when developing this information, and it must be available in English and French. The bill also introduces new duties for regulated health professionals: when a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is communicated, they must provide this written information to the expectant parents. Furthermore, for a 48-hour period after providing this information, health professionals generally cannot recommend further testing or treatment related to the Down syndrome diagnosis unless explicitly requested by the parents or deemed necessary by the professional. They must also inform parents about this waiting period.
- Amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.
- Establishes a duty for the Minister to ensure up-to-date, evidence-based written information about Down syndrome is available to regulated health professionals and the public.
- Specifies the content of the Down syndrome information, including details on life expectancy, development, education, psychosocial outcomes, and resources for families and community supports.
- Requires the Minister to consult with experts and organizations representing persons with Down syndrome before making information available.
- Mandates that the information be available in English and French, and potentially other languages.
- Creates a duty for regulated health professionals to provide this written information to expectant parents when communicating a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
- Imposes a 48-hour waiting period after providing the information, during which further testing or treatment for Down syndrome generally cannot be recommended, unless requested by parents or deemed necessary by the professional.
- Requires health professionals to inform expectant parents about the 48-hour waiting period.
- Amends a heading before section 27 of the Act by adding "and Responsibilities".
- The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care (implied by "the Minister")
- Regulated health professionals in Ontario
- Expectant parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome
- The public in Ontario
- Persons with Down syndrome and their families
- The Minister has a duty to ensure up-to-date, evidence-based written information about Down syndrome is available.
- Regulated health professionals have a duty to provide this information to expectant parents upon a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
- Regulated health professionals have a duty to observe a 48-hour waiting period before recommending further testing or treatment for Down syndrome after providing the information, unless specific exceptions apply.
- Expectant parents have the right to receive specific written information about Down syndrome and to a 48-hour waiting period before further testing or treatment recommendations.
- The public has the right to access the information about Down syndrome made available by the Minister.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent, except for sections 2 and 3, which come into force six months after Royal Assent.
- The bill does not specify which specific regulated health professions are included, only referring to them as 'members' under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.
- The bill does not detail the exact format or delivery mechanism for the written information about Down syndrome.
- The bill states the Minister shall ensure consultations take place, but does not specify the duration or outcomes of these consultations.
- The determination of whether testing or treatment is 'necessary' during the 48-hour period is left to the professional's opinion.
- The bill does not specify the exact process or timeline for the Minister to make the information available after Royal Assent, beyond the commencement dates of the relevant sections.
Adds new duties for the Minister to make information about Down syndrome available and new duties for regulated health professionals regarding the provision of this information and a waiting period after a prenatal diagnosis. It also amends a heading in the Act.
Source: Section 3 and Section 29.2
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced