By: King of Parker	H.B. No. 59

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to a prohibition on abortion after detection of a fetal
	heartbeat; providing penalties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  The legislature finds, according to contemporary
	medical research, that:
	(1)  as many as 30 percent of natural pregnancies end in
	spontaneous miscarriage;
	(2)  less than five percent of all natural pregnancies
	end in spontaneous miscarriage after detection of fetal cardiac
	activity;
	(3)  over 90 percent of in vitro pregnancies survive
	the first trimester if cardiac activity is detected in the
	gestational sac;
	(4)  nearly 90 percent of in vitro pregnancies do not
	survive the first trimester if cardiac activity is not detected in
	the gestational sac;
	(5)  fetal heartbeat, therefore, has become a key
	medical predictor that an unborn child will reach live birth;
	(6)  cardiac activity begins at a biologically
	identifiable moment in time, normally when the fetal heart is
	formed in the gestational sac;
	(7)  the state has legitimate interests from the outset
	of the pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the life
	of an unborn child who may be born; and
	(8)  to make an informed choice about whether to
	continue her pregnancy, the pregnant woman has a legitimate
	interest in knowing the likelihood of the fetus surviving to
	full-term birth based on the presence of cardiac activity.
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, is amended
	by adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER E. ABORTION AFTER DETECTION OF FETAL HEARTBEAT
	Sec. 171.101.  FINDING BY ATTORNEY GENERAL ON ENFORCEABILITY
	AND APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAW.  (a)  This subchapter is not
	enforceable until the 91st day after the date of publication in the
	Texas Register of a finding of fact made by the attorney general
	that:
	(1)  the United States Supreme Court has issued a
	decision overruling Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973);
	(2)  any other state or federal court has issued an
	order or judgment restoring, expanding, or clarifying the authority
	of states to wholly or partly prohibit or regulate abortion under
	the United States Constitution; or
	(3)  an amendment to the United States Constitution
	that restores, expands, or clarifies the authority of states to
	wholly or partly prohibit or regulate abortion has been adopted.
	(b)  The attorney general shall monitor federal
	constitutional law and state and federal court cases related to
	abortions in this state to determine whether a finding is required
	under Subsection (a).  The attorney general shall make the finding
	required under Subsection (a) not later than the 30th day after the
	date the attorney general determines the finding is required.
	(c)  On the 91st day after the publication date of the
	finding described by Subsection (a), Subchapter C has no effect.
	(d)  This subchapter applies only to an offense committed on
	or after the date described by Subsection (c). For purposes of this
	subchapter, an offense is committed before that date if any element
	of the offense occurs before that date. An offense committed before
	that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense
	was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
	purpose.
	Sec. 171.102.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
	(1)  "Conception" means fertilization.
	(2)  "Contraceptive" means a drug, device, or chemical
	that prevents conception.
	(3)  "Fetal heartbeat" means cardiac activity or the
	steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart
	within the gestational sac.
	(4)  "Fetus" means the human offspring developing
	during pregnancy from the moment of conception and includes the
	embryonic stage of development.
	(5)  "Gestational age" has the meaning assigned by
	Section 171.061.
	(6)  "Intrauterine pregnancy" means a pregnancy in
	which the fetus is attached to the placenta within the uterus of the
	pregnant woman.
	(7)  "Medical emergency" means a condition that in a
	physician's good faith medical judgment, based on the facts known
	to the physician at that time, so endangers the life of the pregnant
	woman, or so poses a serious risk of complicating the pregnancy of
	the woman by directly or indirectly causing the substantial and
	irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant
	woman, as to necessitate the immediate performance or inducement of
	an abortion.
	(8)  "Physician" means an individual licensed to
	practice medicine in this state.
	(9)  "Pregnancy" means the human female reproductive
	condition that begins with fertilization, when the woman is
	carrying the developing human offspring, and that is calculated
	from the first day of the last menstrual period of the woman.
	(10)  "Spontaneous miscarriage" means the natural or
	accidental termination of a pregnancy and the expulsion of the
	fetus, typically caused by genetic defects in the fetus or physical
	abnormalities in the pregnant woman.
	(11)  "Standard medical practice" means the degree of
	skill, care, and diligence that a physician of the same medical
	specialty would employ in like circumstances. As applied to the
	method used to determine the presence of a fetal heartbeat for
	purposes of Section 171.103, "standard medical practice" includes
	employing the appropriate means of detection depending on the
	estimated gestational age of the fetus and the condition of the
	woman and her pregnancy.
	(12)  "Unborn child" has the meaning assigned by
	Section 171.061.
	Sec. 171.103.  DETERMINATION OF DETECTABLE HEARTBEAT
	REQUIRED.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided by Section 171.105, a
	physician may not perform or induce or attempt to perform or induce
	an abortion unless the physician has made a determination, in
	accordance with Subsection (c) and standard medical practice, of
	whether the unborn child has a detectable heartbeat.
	(b)  The physician who makes the determination on the
	presence or absence of a fetal heartbeat shall record in the
	pregnant woman's medical record:
	(1)  the estimated gestational age of the unborn child;
	(2)  the method used to test for the presence or absence
	of a fetal heartbeat;
	(3)  the date and time of the test used to determine the
	presence or absence of a fetal heartbeat; and
	(4)  the results of the test.
	(c)  The method of determining the presence or absence of a
	fetal heartbeat must be consistent with the physician's good faith
	understanding of standard medical practice in accordance with any
	rules adopted under this subsection. The executive commissioner of
	the Health and Human Services Commission may adopt rules specifying
	the appropriate method used to test for the presence or absence of a
	fetal heartbeat of an unborn child based on standard medical
	practice.
	Sec. 171.104.  FAILURE TO DETERMINE EXISTENCE OF DETECTABLE
	HEARTBEAT; OFFENSE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a
	person may not knowingly perform or induce or attempt to perform or
	induce an abortion on a pregnant woman before determining, in
	accordance with Section 171.103, whether the unborn child has a
	detectable heartbeat.
	(b)  A person who violates this section commits an offense.
	An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine
	not to exceed $10,000.
	(c)  A pregnant woman on whom an abortion is performed or
	attempted in violation of this section may not be prosecuted under
	this section or for attempting to commit or conspiracy to commit a
	violation of this section.
	(d)  It is an exception to the application of this section
	that a physician performing or inducing or attempting to perform or
	induce an abortion believes that a medical emergency exists that
	prevents compliance with Section 171.103.
	Sec. 171.105.  ABORTION OF UNBORN CHILD WITH DETECTABLE
	HEARTBEAT PROHIBITED; OFFENSE. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
	Subsection (d), a person may not knowingly perform or induce or
	attempt to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman with
	the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the
	life of the unborn child if it has been determined, in accordance
	with Section 171.103, that the unborn child has a detectable
	heartbeat.
	(b)  A person who violates this section commits an offense.
	An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine
	not to exceed $10,000. In this section, "intent" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 6.03(a), Penal Code.
	(c)  A pregnant woman on whom an abortion is performed or
	attempted in violation of this section may not be prosecuted under
	this section or for attempting to commit or conspiracy to commit a
	violation of this section.
	(d)  It is an exception to the application of this section
	that a physician performing or inducing or attempting to perform or
	induce an abortion believes that a medical emergency exists that
	prevents compliance with Section 171.103.
	Sec. 171.106.  INFORMATION REQUIRED BEFORE ABORTION.  (a)
	This section applies only to an abortion authorized under Section
	171.107.
	(b)  A physician may not perform or induce or attempt to
	perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman if the unborn
	child has a detectable heartbeat, as determined under Section
	171.103, unless:
	(1)  the physician intending to perform or induce the
	abortion informs the pregnant woman in writing that the unborn
	child the pregnant woman is carrying has a fetal heartbeat;
	(2)  the physician provides to the pregnant woman
	information, in accordance with any rules adopted under Subsection
	(d) or, if no rules are adopted, to the best of the physician's
	knowledge, on the statistical probability of bringing the unborn
	child possessing a detectable fetal heartbeat to term based on the
	gestational age of the unborn child;
	(3)  the pregnant woman signs a form acknowledging that
	she has received information from the physician that the unborn
	child the pregnant woman is carrying has a fetal heartbeat and that
	the pregnant woman is aware of the statistical probability of
	bringing the unborn child to term; and
	(4)  at least 24 hours have elapsed since the
	completion of the requirements under Subdivisions (1), (2), and
	(3).
	(c)  This section does not apply if the physician who intends
	to perform or induce the abortion believes that a medical emergency
	exists that prevents compliance with this section.
	(d)  The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
	Services Commission may adopt rules that specify the information a
	physician is required to provide to a pregnant woman under
	Subsection (b)(2) regarding the statistical probability of
	bringing an unborn child possessing a detectable heartbeat to term
	based on the gestational age of the unborn child. The rules must be
	based on available medical evidence.
	(e)  This section does not have the effect of repealing or
	limiting any other statutory provision relating to consent for an
	abortion.
	Sec. 171.107.  EXCEPTION; WRITTEN DECLARATION OF MEDICAL
	EMERGENCY.  (a)  The prohibitions and requirements under Sections
	171.103, 171.104, 171.105, and 171.106 do not apply to an abortion
	performed or induced on a pregnant woman if, in the physician's
	reasonable medical judgment, the abortion is designed or intended
	to prevent the woman's death or prevent a serious risk of
	substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function
	of the woman.
	(b)  A physician who performs or induces or attempts to
	perform or induce an abortion because the physician believes a
	medical emergency exists that prevents compliance with Section
	171.103 or 171.106 shall make a written certification in the
	pregnant woman's medical record that:
	(1)  states the physician believes that a medical
	emergency necessitating the abortion existed; and
	(2)  specifies the medical condition of the pregnant
	woman that prevented compliance with Section 171.103 or 171.106 and
	the medical rationale for the physician's conclusion.
	(c)  The physician shall maintain in the pregnant woman's
	medical record the certification described by Subsection (b) until
	at least the seventh anniversary of the date the certification was
	made in the record.
	Sec. 171.108.  CONTRACEPTIVES.  Nothing in this subchapter
	prohibits the use, dispensing, prescribing, or administration of a
	contraceptive.
	Sec. 171.109.  CIVIL CAUSE OF ACTION.  A person is liable to
	a woman in a civil action for the wrongful death of her unborn child
	if the person performed or induced an abortion on the woman and:
	(1)  the abortion was performed or induced in violation
	of Section 171.004 or 171.005;
	(2)  the woman was not provided the information
	described in Section 171.106(b)(2); or
	(3)  the woman did not sign a form described in Section
	171.106(b)(3).
	Sec. 171.110.  CONSTRUCTION OF SUBCHAPTER.  (a)  This
	subchapter shall be construed, as a matter of state law, to be
	enforceable up to but no further than the maximum possible extent
	consistent with federal constitutional requirements, even if that
	construction is not readily apparent, as such constructions are
	authorized only to the extent necessary to save the subchapter from
	judicial invalidation. Judicial reformation of statutory language
	is explicitly authorized only to the extent necessary to save the
	statutory provision from invalidity.
	(b)  If any court determines that a provision of this
	subchapter is unconstitutionally vague, the court shall interpret
	the provision, as a matter of state law, to avoid the vagueness
	problem and shall enforce the provision to the maximum possible
	extent. If a federal court finds any provision of this subchapter or
	its application to any person, group of persons, or circumstances
	to be unconstitutionally vague and declines to impose the saving
	construction described by this subsection, the Supreme Court of
	Texas shall provide an authoritative construction of the
	objectionable statutory provisions that avoids the constitutional
	problems while enforcing the statute's restrictions to the maximum
	possible extent, and shall agree to answer any question certified
	from a federal appellate court regarding the statute.
	(c)  A state executive or administrative official may not
	decline to enforce this subchapter, or adopt a construction of this
	subchapter in a way that narrows its applicability, based on the
	official's own beliefs about what the state or federal constitution
	requires, unless the official is enjoined by a state or federal
	court from enforcing this subchapter.
	(d)  This subchapter may not be construed to authorize the
	prosecution of or a cause of action to be brought against a woman on
	whom an abortion is performed or induced or attempted to be
	performed or induced in violation of this subchapter.
	SECTION 3.  Section 164.052(a), Occupations Code, as amended
	by H.B. No. 2, Acts of the 83rd Legislature, 2nd Called Session,
	2013, is amended to read as follows:
	(a)  A physician or an applicant for a license to practice
	medicine commits a prohibited practice if that person:
	(1)  submits to the board a false or misleading
	statement, document, or certificate in an application for a
	license;
	(2)  presents to the board a license, certificate, or
	diploma that was illegally or fraudulently obtained;
	(3)  commits fraud or deception in taking or passing an
	examination;
	(4)  uses alcohol or drugs in an intemperate manner
	that, in the board's opinion, could endanger a patient's life;
	(5)  commits unprofessional or dishonorable conduct
	that is likely to deceive or defraud the public, as provided by
	Section 164.053, or injure the public;
	(6)  uses an advertising statement that is false,
	misleading, or deceptive;
	(7)  advertises professional superiority or the
	performance of professional service in a superior manner if that
	advertising is not readily subject to verification;
	(8)  purchases, sells, barters, or uses, or offers to
	purchase, sell, barter, or use, a medical degree, license,
	certificate, or diploma, or a transcript of a license, certificate,
	or diploma in or incident to an application to the board for a
	license to practice medicine;
	(9)  alters, with fraudulent intent, a medical license,
	certificate, or diploma, or a transcript of a medical license,
	certificate, or diploma;
	(10)  uses a medical license, certificate, or diploma,
	or a transcript of a medical license, certificate, or diploma that
	has been:
	(A)  fraudulently purchased or issued;
	(B)  counterfeited; or
	(C)  materially altered;
	(11)  impersonates or acts as proxy for another person
	in an examination required by this subtitle for a medical license;
	(12)  engages in conduct that subverts or attempts to
	subvert an examination process required by this subtitle for a
	medical license;
	(13)  impersonates a physician or permits another to
	use the person's license or certificate to practice medicine in
	this state;
	(14)  directly or indirectly employs a person whose
	license to practice medicine has been suspended, canceled, or
	revoked;
	(15)  associates in the practice of medicine with a
	person:
	(A)  whose license to practice medicine has been
	suspended, canceled, or revoked; or
	(B)  who has been convicted of the unlawful
	practice of medicine in this state or elsewhere;
	(16)  performs or procures a criminal abortion, aids or
	abets in the procuring of a criminal abortion, attempts to perform
	or procure a criminal abortion, or attempts to aid or abet the
	performance or procurement of a criminal abortion;
	(17)  directly or indirectly aids or abets the practice
	of medicine by a person, partnership, association, or corporation
	that is not licensed to practice medicine by the board;
	(18)  performs an abortion on a woman who is pregnant
	with a viable unborn child during the third trimester of the
	pregnancy unless:
	(A)  the abortion is necessary to prevent the
	death of the woman;
	(B)  the viable unborn child has a severe,
	irreversible brain impairment; or
	(C)  the woman is diagnosed with a significant
	likelihood of suffering imminent severe, irreversible brain damage
	or imminent severe, irreversible paralysis;
	(19)  performs an abortion on an unemancipated minor
	without the written consent of the child's parent, managing
	conservator, or legal guardian or without a court order, as
	provided by Section 33.003 or 33.004, Family Code, authorizing the
	minor to consent to the abortion, unless the physician concludes
	that on the basis of the physician's good faith clinical judgment, a
	condition exists that complicates the medical condition of the
	pregnant minor and necessitates the immediate abortion of her
	pregnancy to avert her death or to avoid a serious risk of
	substantial impairment of a major bodily function and that there is
	insufficient time to obtain the consent of the child's parent,
	managing conservator, or legal guardian; [or]
	(20)  performs or induces or attempts to perform or
	induce an abortion in violation of Subchapter C, Chapter 171,
	Health and Safety Code; or
	(21)  performs or induces or attempts to perform or
	induce an abortion in violation of Subchapter E, Chapter 171,
	Health and Safety Code.
	SECTION 4.  Section 164.055(b), Occupations Code, as amended
	by H.B. No. 2, Acts of the 83rd Legislature, 2nd Called Session,
	2013, is amended to read as follows:
	(b)  The sanctions provided by Subsection (a) are in addition
	to any other grounds for refusal to admit persons to examination
	under this subtitle or to issue a license or renew a license to
	practice medicine under this subtitle.  The criminal penalties
	provided by Section 165.152 do not apply to a violation of Section
	170.002 or Subchapter C or E, Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code.
	SECTION 5.  This Act may not be construed to repeal, by
	implication or otherwise, Section 164.052(a)(18), Occupations
	Code, Section 170.002, Health and Safety Code, or, except as
	provided by Section 171.101, Health and Safety Code, as added by
	this Act, any other provision of Texas law regulating or
	restricting abortion not specifically addressed by this Act. An
	abortion that complies with this Act but violates any other law is
	unlawful. An abortion that complies with another state law but
	violates this Act is unlawful as provided in this Act.
	SECTION 6.  (a) If some or all of the provisions of this Act
	are ever temporarily or permanently restrained or enjoined by
	judicial order, all other provisions of Texas law regulating or
	restricting abortion, including Subchapter C, Chapter 171, Health
	and Safety Code, shall be enforced as though the restrained or
	enjoined provisions had not been adopted; provided, however, that
	whenever the temporary or permanent restraining order or injunction
	is stayed or dissolved, or otherwise ceases to have effect, the
	provisions shall have full force and effect.
	(b)  Mindful of Leavitt v. Jane L., 518 U.S. 137 (1996), in
	which in the context of determining the severability of a state
	statute regulating abortion the United States Supreme Court held
	that an explicit statement of legislative intent is controlling, it
	is the intent of the legislature that every provision, section,
	subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word in this Act, and
	every application of the provisions in this Act, are severable from
	each other. If any application of any provision in this Act to any
	person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be
	invalid, the remaining applications of that provision to all other
	persons and circumstances shall be severed and may not be affected.
	All constitutionally valid applications of this Act shall be
	severed from any applications that a court finds to be invalid,
	leaving the valid applications in force, because it is the
	legislature's intent and priority that the valid applications be
	allowed to stand alone.  Even if a reviewing court finds a provision
	of this Act to impose an undue burden in a large or substantial
	fraction of relevant cases, the applications that do not present an
	undue burden shall be severed from the remaining provisions and
	shall remain in force, and shall be treated as if the legislature
	had enacted a statute limited to the persons, group of persons, or
	circumstances for which the statute's application does not present
	an undue burden. The legislature further declares that it would
	have passed this Act, and each provision, section, subsection,
	sentence, clause, phrase, or word, and all constitutional
	applications of this Act, irrespective of the fact that any
	provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word,
	or applications of this Act, were to be declared unconstitutional
	or to represent an undue burden.
	(c)  If Subchapter E, Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, as
	added by this Act, prohibiting abortions performed on an unborn
	child after detection of a fetal heartbeat, is found by any court to
	be invalid or to impose an undue burden as applied to any person,
	group of persons, or circumstances, the prohibition shall apply to
	that person or group of persons or circumstances on the earliest
	date on which the subchapter can be applied constitutionally and in
	accordance with this Act.
	SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
	legislative session.