Bill Text: TX HB2945 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to the removing of the risk of breast cancer as part of a woman's informed consent for an abortion.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-10 - Left pending in committee [HB2945 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HB2945-Introduced.html
 
 
  By: S. Davis of Harris H.B. No. 2945
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the removing of the risk of breast cancer as part of a
  woman's informed consent for an abortion.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 171.012, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 171.012.  VOLUNTARY AND INFORMED CONSENT. (a) Consent
  to an abortion is voluntary and informed only if:
               (1)  the physician who is to perform the abortion
  informs the pregnant woman on whom the abortion is to be performed
  of:
                     (A)  the physician's name;
                     (B)  the particular medical risks associated with
  the particular abortion procedure to be employed, including, when
  medically accurate:
                           (i)  the risks of infection and hemorrhage;
  and
                           (ii)  the potential danger to a subsequent
  pregnancy and of infertility; and
                           (iii)     the possibility of increased risk of
  breast cancer following an induced abortion and the natural
  protective effect of a completed pregnancy in avoiding breast
  cancer;
                     (C)  the probable gestational age of the unborn
  child at the time the abortion is to be performed; and
                     (D)  the medical risks associated with carrying
  the child to term;
               (2)  the physician who is to perform the abortion or the
  physician's agent informs the pregnant woman that:
                     (A)  medical assistance benefits may be available
  for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care;
                     (B)  the father is liable for assistance in the
  support of the child without regard to whether the father has
  offered to pay for the abortion; and
                     (C)  public and private agencies provide
  pregnancy prevention counseling and medical referrals for
  obtaining pregnancy prevention medications or devices, including
  emergency contraception for victims of rape or incest;
               (3)  the physician who is to perform the abortion or the
  physician's agent:
                     (A)  provides the pregnant woman with the printed
  materials described by Section 171.014; and
                     (B)  informs the pregnant woman that those
  materials:
                           (i)  have been provided by the Department of
  State Health Services;
                           (ii)  are accessible on an Internet website
  sponsored by the department;
                           (iii)  describe the unborn child and list
  agencies that offer alternatives to abortion; and
                           (iv)  include a list of agencies that offer
  sonogram services at no cost to the pregnant woman;
               (4)  before any sedative or anesthesia is administered
  to the pregnant woman and at least 24 hours before the abortion or
  at least two hours before the abortion if the pregnant woman waives
  this requirement by certifying that she currently lives 100 miles
  or more from the nearest abortion provider that is a facility
  licensed under Chapter 245 or a facility that performs more than 50
  abortions in any 12-month period:
                     (A)  the physician who is to perform the abortion
  or an agent of the physician who is also a sonographer certified by
  a national registry of medical sonographers performs a sonogram on
  the pregnant woman on whom the abortion is to be performed;
                     (B)  the physician who is to perform the abortion
  displays the sonogram images in a quality consistent with current
  medical practice in a manner that the pregnant woman may view them;
                     (C)  the physician who is to perform the abortion
  provides, in a manner understandable to a layperson, a verbal
  explanation of the results of the sonogram images, including a
  medical description of the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, the
  presence of cardiac activity, and the presence of external members
  and internal organs; and
                     (D)  the physician who is to perform the abortion
  or an agent of the physician who is also a sonographer certified by
  a national registry of medical sonographers makes audible the heart
  auscultation for the pregnant woman to hear, if present, in a
  quality consistent with current medical practice and provides, in a
  manner understandable to a layperson, a simultaneous verbal
  explanation of the heart auscultation;
               (5)  before receiving a sonogram under Subdivision
  (4)(A) and before the abortion is performed and before any sedative
  or anesthesia is administered, the pregnant woman completes and
  certifies with her signature an election form that states as
  follows:
  "ABORTION AND SONOGRAM ELECTION
               (1)  THE INFORMATION AND PRINTED MATERIALS DESCRIBED BY
  SECTIONS 171.012(a)(1)-(3), TEXAS HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE, HAVE BEEN
  PROVIDED AND EXPLAINED TO ME.
               (2)  I UNDERSTAND THE NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES OF AN
  ABORTION.
               (3)  TEXAS LAW REQUIRES THAT I RECEIVE A SONOGRAM PRIOR
  TO RECEIVING AN ABORTION.
               (4)  I UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE THE OPTION TO VIEW THE
  SONOGRAM IMAGES.
               (5)  I UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE THE OPTION TO HEAR THE
  HEARTBEAT.
               (6)  I UNDERSTAND THAT I AM REQUIRED BY LAW TO HEAR AN
  EXPLANATION OF THE SONOGRAM IMAGES UNLESS I CERTIFY IN WRITING TO
  ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
         ___ I AM PREGNANT AS A RESULT OF A SEXUAL ASSAULT, INCEST, OR
  OTHER VIOLATION OF THE TEXAS PENAL CODE THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO
  LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES OR THAT HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED BECAUSE I
  REASONABLY BELIEVE THAT DOING SO WOULD PUT ME AT RISK OF RETALIATION
  RESULTING IN SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.
         ___ I AM A MINOR AND OBTAINING AN ABORTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH
  JUDICIAL BYPASS PROCEDURES UNDER CHAPTER 33, TEXAS FAMILY CODE.
         ___ MY FETUS HAS AN IRREVERSIBLE MEDICAL CONDITION OR
  ABNORMALITY, AS IDENTIFIED BY RELIABLE DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES AND
  DOCUMENTED IN MY MEDICAL FILE.
               (7)  I AM MAKING THIS ELECTION OF MY OWN FREE WILL AND
  WITHOUT COERCION.
               (8)  FOR A WOMAN WHO LIVES 100 MILES OR MORE FROM THE
  NEAREST ABORTION PROVIDER THAT IS A FACILITY LICENSED UNDER CHAPTER
  245 OR A FACILITY THAT PERFORMS MORE THAN 50 ABORTIONS IN ANY
  12-MONTH PERIOD ONLY:
               I CERTIFY THAT, BECAUSE I CURRENTLY LIVE 100 MILES OR
  MORE FROM THE NEAREST ABORTION PROVIDER THAT IS A FACILITY LICENSED
  UNDER CHAPTER 245 OR A FACILITY THAT PERFORMS MORE THAN 50 ABORTIONS
  IN ANY 12-MONTH PERIOD, I WAIVE THE REQUIREMENT TO WAIT 24 HOURS
  AFTER THE SONOGRAM IS PERFORMED BEFORE RECEIVING THE ABORTION
  PROCEDURE. MY PLACE OF RESIDENCE IS: __________.
         ______________________________      
         SIGNATUREDATE";               
 
               (6)  before the abortion is performed, the physician
  who is to perform the abortion receives a copy of the signed,
  written certification required by Subdivision (5); and
               (7)  the pregnant woman is provided the name of each
  person who provides or explains the information required under this
  subsection.
         (a-1)  During a visit made to a facility to fulfill the
  requirements of Subsection (a), the facility and any person at the
  facility may not accept any form of payment, deposit, or exchange or
  make any financial agreement for an abortion or abortion-related
  services other than for payment of a service required by Subsection
  (a). The amount charged for a service required by Subsection (a) may
  not exceed the reimbursement rate established for the service by
  the Health and Human Services Commission for statewide medical
  reimbursement programs.
         (b)  The information required to be provided under
  Subsections (a)(1) and (2) may not be provided by audio or video
  recording and must be provided at least 24 hours before the abortion
  is to be performed:
               (1)  orally and in person in a private and confidential
  setting if the pregnant woman currently lives less than 100 miles
  from the nearest abortion provider that is a facility licensed
  under Chapter 245 or a facility that performs more than 50 abortions
  in any 12-month period; or
               (2)  orally by telephone or in person in a private and
  confidential setting if the pregnant woman certifies that the woman
  currently lives 100 miles or more from the nearest abortion
  provider that is a facility licensed under Chapter 245 or a facility
  that performs more than 50 abortions in any 12-month period.
         (c)  When providing the information under Subsection (a)(3),
  the physician or the physician's agent must provide the pregnant
  woman with the address of the Internet website on which the printed
  materials described by Section 171.014 may be viewed as required by
  Section 171.014(e).
         (d)  The information provided to the woman under Subsection
  (a)(2)(B) must include, based on information available from the
  Office of the Attorney General and the United States Department of
  Health and Human Services Office of Child Support Enforcement for
  the three-year period preceding the publication of the information,
  information regarding the statistical likelihood of collecting
  child support.
         (e)  The department is not required to republish
  informational materials described by Subsection (a)(2)(B) because
  of a change in information described by Subsection (d) unless the
  statistical information in the materials changes by five percent or
  more.
         SECTION 2.  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 September 1, 2013.
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