Bill Text: TX HB708 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the medical accuracy of informational materials given to a woman seeking an abortion.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-22 - Left pending in committee [HB708 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB708-Introduced.html

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84R4170 JSC-D
By: Farrar H.B. No. 708

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the medical accuracy of informational materials given
to a woman seeking an abortion.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 171.002(4), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(4) "Sonogram" means the use of ultrasonic waves for
diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, specifically to monitor an
embryo or fetus [unborn child].
SECTION 2. Section 171.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(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 embryo or
fetus [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 embryo or fetus [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:__________.
____________________ ____________________
SIGNATURE DATE";
(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.
SECTION 3. Section 171.014(f), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(f) In addition to any other organization or entity, the
department shall use the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists as the resource in developing information required to
be provided under Sections 171.012(a)(1)(B) and (D), Sections
171.012(a)(2)(A), (B), and (C), and Section 171.016, and in
maintaining the department's Internet website. Information
described by this subsection must be verified and supported by
research that is recognized as medically accurate, objective, and
complete by the National Institutes of Health and affiliated
organizations.
SECTION 4. Section 171.015, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 171.015. INFORMATION RELATING TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
AGENCIES. The informational materials must include:
(1) geographically indexed materials designed to
inform the pregnant woman of public and private agencies and
services that:
(A) are available to assist a woman through
pregnancy, childbirth, and the child's dependency, including:
(i) a comprehensive list of adoption
agencies;
(ii) a description of the services the
adoption agencies offer;
(iii) a description of the manner,
including telephone numbers, in which an adoption agency may be
contacted; and
(iv) a comprehensive list of agencies and
organizations that offer sonogram services at no cost to the
pregnant woman; and
(B) are available to provide information and
services related to family planning [do not provide abortions or
abortion-related services or make referrals to abortion providers;
and
[(C) are not affiliated with organizations that
provide abortions or abortion-related services or make referrals to
abortion providers]; and
(2) a toll-free, 24-hour telephone number that may be
called to obtain an oral list and description of agencies described
by Subdivision (1) that are located near the caller and of the
services the agencies offer.
SECTION 5. Section 171.016, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 171.016. INFORMATION RELATING TO CHARACTERISTICS OF
EMBRYO OR FETUS [UNBORN CHILD]. (a) The informational materials
must include materials designed to inform the woman of the probable
anatomical and physiological characteristics of the embryo or fetus
[unborn child] at two-week gestational increments from the time
when a woman can be known to be pregnant to full term, including any
relevant information on the possibility of the embryo's or fetus's
[unborn child's] survival.
(b) The materials must include color pictures representing
the development of the embryo or fetus [child] at two-week
gestational increments. The pictures must contain the dimensions
of the embryo or fetus [unborn child] and must be realistic.
(c) The materials provided under this section must be
objective and nonjudgmental and be designed to convey only accurate
scientific information about the embryo or fetus [unborn child] at
the various gestational ages. Information in the materials must be
verified and supported by research that is recognized as medically
accurate, objective, and complete by the National Institutes of
Health and affiliated organizations.
SECTION 6. (a) By not later than December 1, 2015, the
Department of State Health Services shall:
(1) revise the informational materials the department
is required to publish under Section 171.014, Health and Safety
Code, as amended by this Act; and
(2) make the materials available for distribution.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to the
information a physician is required to provide under Section
171.012, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, on or after
January 1, 2016.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.