Bill Text: TX SB16 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to protection of individuals from participation in a health care service for reasons of conscience; providing a civil remedy; authorizing disciplinary action.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-09-08 - Filed [SB16 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB16-Introduced.html
| By: Hall | S.B. No. 16 | |
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| relating to protection of individuals from participation in a | ||
| health care service for reasons of conscience; providing a civil | ||
| remedy; authorizing disciplinary action. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. The legislature finds that: | ||
| (1) the public policy of this state is to respect the | ||
| conscience of all health care providers and the right of each health | ||
| care provider to hold their own belief about whether certain health | ||
| care services are morally acceptable; | ||
| (2) without comprehensive protections, the conscience | ||
| of health care providers may be violated; and | ||
| (3) each health care provider must be protected from | ||
| required participation in a health care service in which the | ||
| provider has declined participation for reasons of conscience and | ||
| from discriminatory adverse action resulting from the | ||
| nonparticipation. | ||
| SECTION 2. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended | ||
| by adding Subchapter X to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER X. TEXAS HEALTH CARE CONSCIENCE PROTECTION ACT | ||
| Sec. 161.701. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
| (1) "Conscience" means a sincerely held set of moral | ||
| convictions arising from: | ||
| (A) a belief in and relation to God; | ||
| (B) a religious faith or spiritual practice; or | ||
| (C) a moral philosophy or ethical position, | ||
| without regard to whether the philosophy or position is related to a | ||
| religious faith. | ||
| (2) "Emergency care" means health care services | ||
| provided to stabilize a patient's medical condition manifesting in | ||
| acute symptoms of sufficient severity, including severe pain, that | ||
| would lead a prudent layperson possessing an average knowledge of | ||
| medicine and health to believe the patient's condition, sickness, | ||
| or injury is of sufficient severity that absence of immediate | ||
| medical care could reasonably be expected to: | ||
| (A) result in the patient's death; | ||
| (B) place the patient's health in serious | ||
| jeopardy; | ||
| (C) result in serious impairment of the patient's | ||
| bodily functions; | ||
| (D) result in serious dysfunction of a bodily | ||
| organ or part of the patient; | ||
| (E) result in serious disfigurement of the | ||
| patient; or | ||
| (F) for a pregnant woman, place the health of the | ||
| woman's unborn child in serious jeopardy. | ||
| (3) "Health care facility" means a public or private | ||
| organization, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, | ||
| association, agency, network, joint venture, or other entity that | ||
| provides health care services to patients. The term includes a | ||
| hospital, clinic, medical center, ambulatory surgical center, | ||
| private physician's office, pharmacy, nursing home, laboratory or | ||
| diagnostic facility, infirmary, dispensary, medical school, | ||
| nursing school, or medical training facility. | ||
| (4) "Health care provider" means a nurse, nurse aide, | ||
| medical assistant, hospital employee, clinic employee, nursing | ||
| home employee, pharmacist, pharmacy employee, researcher, medical, | ||
| pharmacy, or nursing school student, professional, | ||
| paraprofessional, or, without regard to whether the individual | ||
| holds a license, any other individual who furnishes or assists in | ||
| the furnishing of a health care service. | ||
| (5) "Health care service" means any phase of patient | ||
| health care or treatment, including any conduct that may give rise | ||
| to a health care liability claim, as that term is defined by Section | ||
| 74.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The term includes: | ||
| (A) testing, diagnosis, prognosis, ancillary | ||
| research, instruction, medication, therapy, treatment, and | ||
| surgery; | ||
| (B) family planning, counseling, and referrals, | ||
| and any other advice in connection with the use or procurement of | ||
| contraceptives, sterilization, or abortion; and | ||
| (C) any other care or treatment rendered by a | ||
| health care facility, physician, or health care provider. | ||
| (6) "Life-sustaining treatment" has the meaning | ||
| assigned by Section 166.002. | ||
| (7) "Participate" related to the provision of a health | ||
| care service includes an act to receive, obtain, perform, assist in | ||
| performing, give advice regarding, suggest, recommend, or refer a | ||
| health care service. | ||
| (8) "Physician" means an individual licensed to | ||
| practice medicine in this state. | ||
| (9) "Substantially prevent" related to the provision | ||
| of a health care service means to significantly delay the provision | ||
| of a health care service to a patient. | ||
| (10) "Undue delay" related to the provision of a | ||
| health care service means an unreasonable delay that impairs a | ||
| patient's health. | ||
| Sec. 161.702. RIGHT TO DECLINE PARTICIPATION IN HEALTH CARE | ||
| SERVICE FOR REASONS OF CONSCIENCE; EXCEPTIONS. (a) Except as | ||
| provided by Subsection (b), an individual may decline to | ||
| participate in a health care service for reasons of conscience. | ||
| (b) An individual may not decline to participate in the | ||
| following services: | ||
| (1) emergency care; | ||
| (2) life-sustaining treatment; or | ||
| (3) cardiopulmonary resuscitation. | ||
| (c) An individual who declines for reasons of conscience to | ||
| participate in providing life-sustaining treatment to a patient | ||
| shall continue providing life-sustaining treatment to the patient | ||
| until an accommodation is arranged under Section 161.706. | ||
| (d) This section may not be construed to allow an individual | ||
| to decline to participate in providing a health care service to a | ||
| patient because of the patient's race, color, sex, national origin, | ||
| religion, age, disability, physical condition, or economic status. | ||
| Sec. 161.703. IMMUNITY OF PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH CARE | ||
| PROVIDERS. A physician or health care provider may not be held | ||
| civilly or criminally liable because the physician or health care | ||
| provider declines to participate in a health care service wholly or | ||
| partly for reasons of conscience. | ||
| Sec. 161.704. ADVERSE ACTION. A person, including a public | ||
| official and a medical school or other institution that conducts | ||
| education or training programs for physicians or health care | ||
| providers, violates this subchapter by taking an adverse action | ||
| against an individual because the individual declines to | ||
| participate in a health care service for reasons of conscience. | ||
| Violations include taking an adverse action with regard to: | ||
| (1) licensure; | ||
| (2) certification; | ||
| (3) employment terms, benefits, seniority status, | ||
| promotion, or transfer; | ||
| (4) staff appointments or other privileges; | ||
| (5) denial of employment, admission, or participation | ||
| in a program for which the individual is eligible; | ||
| (6) reference to reasons of conscience in an | ||
| application form; | ||
| (7) questions regarding an applicant's participation | ||
| in providing a health care service for reasons of conscience; | ||
| (8) imposition of a burden in the terms or conditions | ||
| of employment; | ||
| (9) denial of aid, assistance, or benefits; | ||
| (10) conditional receipt of the aid, assistance, or | ||
| benefits; or | ||
| (11) coercion or disqualification of the individual | ||
| receiving aid, assistance, or benefits. | ||
| Sec. 161.705. PROTOCOL FOR DECLINING PARTICIPATION IN | ||
| PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICE. (a) A health care facility shall | ||
| develop a written protocol for circumstances in which an individual | ||
| declines to participate in providing a health care service, other | ||
| than a life-sustaining treatment, for reasons of conscience. The | ||
| protocol must describe a patient's access to health care services | ||
| and information to ensure the patient is not permanently or | ||
| substantially prevented from obtaining the services. The protocol | ||
| must explain the process the facility will implement to facilitate | ||
| in a timely manner the patient's access to the services. | ||
| (b) An individual who declines to participate in providing a | ||
| health care service for reasons of conscience shall: | ||
| (1) notify the health care facility of the | ||
| declination; and | ||
| (2) comply with the applicable protocol developed | ||
| under this section. | ||
| (c) This section does not require a health care facility, | ||
| physician, or health care provider to counsel a patient or refer the | ||
| patient to another physician or facility regarding a health care | ||
| service that is contrary to the conscience of the physician or | ||
| health care provider. | ||
| Sec. 161.706. PROTOCOL FOR LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENT. (a) | ||
| A health care facility shall develop a written protocol for | ||
| circumstances in which an individual declines to participate in | ||
| providing life-sustaining treatment for reasons of conscience. The | ||
| protocol must prohibit an individual from declining to provide | ||
| life-sustaining treatment to a patient before the patient is | ||
| transferred to another physician or health care provider at the | ||
| health care facility who is willing to provide life-sustaining | ||
| treatment to the patient. The protocol must explain the process the | ||
| health care facility will implement to facilitate a timely | ||
| transfer. | ||
| (b) An individual who declines to participate in providing | ||
| life-sustaining treatment for reasons of conscience shall notify | ||
| the health care facility and comply with the applicable protocol | ||
| developed under this section. The individual must continue to | ||
| participate in providing life-sustaining treatment until the | ||
| facility transfers the patient to another physician or health care | ||
| provider at the facility. | ||
| (c) If a transfer to another physician or health care | ||
| provider at the health care facility cannot be arranged, the | ||
| protocol at a minimum must require a health care facility, | ||
| physician, or health care provider to: | ||
| (1) timely inform the patient of the patient's | ||
| condition, prognosis, and treatment options, and the risks and | ||
| benefits of those treatment options, consistent with accepted | ||
| standards of health care; | ||
| (2) provide without undue delay on request of the | ||
| patient or the patient's legal representative copies of the | ||
| patient's medical records to the patient or another health care | ||
| facility, physician, or health care provider designated by the | ||
| patient in accordance with medical privacy laws; and | ||
| (3) take any other action necessary to transfer the | ||
| patient to another health care facility. | ||
| (d) This section does not require a health care facility, | ||
| physician, or health care provider to counsel a patient or refer the | ||
| patient to another physician or facility regarding a health care | ||
| service that is contrary to the conscience of the physician or | ||
| health care provider. The information required by Subsection (c) | ||
| may be provided by a health care facility, physician, or health care | ||
| provider other than the physician or health care provider who | ||
| declined to participate in providing life-sustaining treatment for | ||
| reasons of conscience. | ||
| Sec. 161.707. DISCIPLINARY ACTION; COMPLAINT. (a) A | ||
| health care facility, physician, or health care provider that holds | ||
| a license issued by a licensing agency in this state is subject to | ||
| review and disciplinary action by the licensing agency for a | ||
| violation of this subchapter as if the facility, physician, or | ||
| provider violated the applicable licensing law. | ||
| (b) An individual who is injured by a violation of this | ||
| subchapter may file a complaint with the licensing agency that | ||
| issued a license to the health care facility, physician, or health | ||
| care provider that allegedly violated this subchapter. | ||
| (c) A physician or health care provider may not file a | ||
| complaint with the appropriate licensing agency under this section | ||
| unless the physician or health care provider complies with the | ||
| health care facility's protocol developed under Section 161.705 or | ||
| 161.706, as appropriate. | ||
| Sec. 161.708. CIVIL REMEDIES. A person who is injured by a | ||
| violation of this subchapter may bring a civil action against a | ||
| person who violates this subchapter. A person who brings the action | ||
| under this section may obtain: | ||
| (1) injunctive relief; | ||
| (2) damages incurred by the person, including: | ||
| (A) actual damages for all psychological, | ||
| emotional, and physical injuries resulting from the violation of | ||
| this subchapter; | ||
| (B) court costs; and | ||
| (C) reasonable attorney's fees; or | ||
| (3) both injunctive relief and damages. | ||
| SECTION 3. Not later than March 1, 2022, a health care | ||
| facility, as that term is defined by Section 161.701, Health and | ||
| Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall adopt protocols required by | ||
| Sections 161.705 and 161.706, Health and Safety Code, as added by | ||
| this Act. | ||
| SECTION 4. Section 161.703, Health and Safety Code, as | ||
| added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on | ||
| or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2022. | ||
