Bill Text: TX HB2350 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to prohibition of abortion; creating a civil penalty offense; providing for a civil cause of action.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 19-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-01 - Left pending in committee [HB2350 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB2350-Introduced.html
 
 
  By: Capriglione H.B. No. 2350
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to prohibition of abortion; creating a civil penalty
  offense; providing for a civil cause of action.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Title 10, Penal Code, is amended by adding
  Chapter 50 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 50. ABORTION
         Sec. 50.01.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Abortion" has the meaning assigned by Section
  245.002, Health and Safety Code.
               (2)  "Fertilization" means the point in time when a
  male human sperm penetrates the zona pellucida of a female human
  ovum.
               (3)  "Pregnant" means the female human reproductive
  condition of having a living unborn child within the female's body
  through the entire embryonic and fetal stages of the unborn child's
  development from fertilization until birth.
               (4)  "Reasonable medical judgment" means a medical
  judgment made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable
  about the case and the treatment possibilities for the medical
  conditions involved.
               (5)  "Unborn child" means an individual living member
  of the homo sapiens species from fertilization until birth,
  including the entire embryonic and fetal stages of development.
         Sec. 50.02.  PERFORMANCE OF ABORTION; CIVIL OFFENSE. (a) A
  person may not knowingly perform or induce or attempt to perform or
  induce an abortion intended to cause the death of an unborn child.
         (b)  A person commits a civil offense if an unborn child dies
  or sustains bodily injury as a result of an abortion performed or
  attempted by the person.
         (c)  It is an exception to the application of this section
  that:
               (1)  the actor is a licensed physician;
               (2)  in the actor's reasonable medical judgment, the
  pregnant female on whom the abortion is performed or attempted has a
  life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or
  arising from a pregnancy that places the female at risk of death or
  poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily
  function unless the abortion is performed; and
               (3)  the actor performs or attempts to perform the
  abortion in a manner that, in the actor's reasonable medical
  judgment, provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to
  survive unless, in the actor's reasonable medical judgment, that
  manner would create:
                     (A)  a greater risk of the pregnant female's
  death; or
                     (B)  a serious risk of substantial impairment of a
  major bodily function of the pregnant female.
         (d)  The exception provided by Subsection (c) is not
  available if, at the time the abortion was performed or attempted,
  the actor knew the risk of death or a substantial impairment of a
  major bodily function arose from a claim or diagnosis that the
  female would engage in conduct that might result in the female's
  death or in substantial impairment of a major bodily function.
         (e)  It is an exception to the application of this section
  that the conduct subject to the offense is medical treatment
  provided to a pregnant female by a physician and that medical
  treatment results in the accidental death of or unintentional
  bodily injury to an unborn child.
         (f)  This section may not be construed to authorize the
  prosecution of a pregnant female on whom an abortion is performed or
  attempted.
         Sec. 50.03.  CIVIL PENALTY. A physician or health care
  facility that violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of
  $500 for each violation. The attorney general, at the request of the
  commission or appropriate licensing agency, may file an action to
  recover a civil penalty assessed under this section and may recover
  attorney's fees and costs incurred in bringing the action. Each day
  of a continuing violation constitutes a separate ground for
  recovery.
         Sec. 50.04.  CIVIL REMEDIES UNAFFECTED. The fact that
  conduct is a civil offense under this section does not abolish or
  impair any remedy for the conduct that is available in a civil suit.
         Sec. 50.05.  CIVIL ACTION; PROVIDING REMEDIES. (a) Unless
  the abortion is performed pursuant to the exception provided in
  Section 50.02(c), a woman on whom an abortion, as defined by Section
  245.002, Health and Safety Code, is performed or attempted, the
  father of the unborn child or a parent of the mother of the unborn
  child, if the mother is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
  the abortion, may bring a civil action to obtain appropriate relief
  for causing the unborn child to die or sustain bodily injury as a
  result of the abortion, including:
               (1)  money damages for physical injury, mental anguish,
  and emotional distress; and
               (2)  exemplary damages equal to three times the cost of
  the abortion.
         (b)  A person may not bring or maintain an action under this
  section if:
               (1)  the person consented to the abortion; or
               (2)  the person's injurious conduct resulted in the
  pregnancy.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 6-1/2, Title 71, Revised Statutes, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 3.  (a) Sections 1 and 2 of this Act take effect, to
  the extent permitted, on the 30th day after:
               (1)  the issuance of a United States Supreme Court
  judgment overruling, wholly or partly, Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113
  (1973), as modified by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833
  (1992), thereby allowing the states to prohibit abortion;
               (2)  the issuance of any other United States Supreme
  Court decision that recognizes, wholly or partly, the authority of
  the states to prohibit abortion; or
               (3)  adoption of an amendment to the United States
  Constitution that, wholly or partly, restores to the states the
  authority to prohibit abortion.
         (b)  Chapter 50, Penal Code, as added by this Act, applies
  only to an offense committed on or after the date described by
  Subsection (a) of this section. An offense committed before the
  date described by Subsection (a) of this section 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. For purposes of this
  subsection, an offense is committed before the date described by
  Subsection (a) of this section if any element of the offense occurs
  before that date.
         SECTION 4.  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, 2019.
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