Bill Text: TX SB1869 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to resource awareness sessions for women seeking abortions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-25 - Referred to State Affairs [SB1869 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-SB1869-Introduced.html
84R4293 LED-D | ||
By: Lucio | S.B. No. 1869 |
|
||
|
||
relating to resource awareness sessions for women seeking | ||
abortions. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. 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; | ||
(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; [ |
||
(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; and | ||
(D) the Health and Human Services Commission | ||
offers, at no cost, a resource awareness session that provides | ||
information regarding: | ||
(i) a pregnant woman's option to place her | ||
child for adoption; | ||
(ii) a woman's health before and during | ||
pregnancy; and | ||
(iii) available resources for pregnant | ||
women and their children, including: | ||
(a) the federal special supplemental | ||
nutrition program for women, infants, and children authorized by 42 | ||
U.S.C. Section 1786; | ||
(b) the supplemental nutrition | ||
assistance program under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code; and | ||
(c) information on selection of a | ||
physician; | ||
(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:__________. | ||
___________________ _____________________ | ||
SIGNATURE DATE"; | ||
(6) before the abortion is performed, the pregnant | ||
woman completes the resource awareness session and obtains the | ||
certificate of completion required by Subchapter E in the time | ||
authorized under Subchapter E or signs the affidavit described by | ||
Section 171.102; | ||
(7) before the abortion is performed, the physician | ||
who is to perform the abortion receives a copy of: | ||
(A) the signed, written certification required | ||
by Subdivision (5); and | ||
(B) the certificate of completion or affidavit | ||
required by Subdivision (6); and | ||
(8) [ |
||
each person who provides or explains the information required under | ||
this subsection. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 171.014(a), Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The department shall publish informational materials | ||
that include: | ||
(1) the information required to be provided under | ||
Sections 171.012(a)(1)(B) and (D) and (a)(2)(A), (B), [ |
||
and (D); and | ||
(2) the materials required by Sections 171.015 and | ||
171.016. | ||
SECTION 3. Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, is amended | ||
by adding Subchapter E to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER E. RESOURCE AWARENESS SESSION | ||
Sec. 171.101. RESOURCE AWARENESS SESSION. (a) The Health | ||
and Human Services Commission, in consultation with the Department | ||
of State Health Services and the Department of Family and | ||
Protective Services, shall: | ||
(1) develop a resource awareness session of at least | ||
one hour and not more than three hours that provides information | ||
regarding: | ||
(A) a pregnant woman's option to place her child | ||
for adoption; | ||
(B) a woman's health before and during pregnancy; | ||
and | ||
(C) available resources for pregnant women and | ||
their children, including: | ||
(i) the federal special supplemental | ||
nutrition program for women, infants, and children authorized by 42 | ||
U.S.C. Section 1786; | ||
(ii) the supplemental nutrition assistance | ||
program under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code; and | ||
(iii) information on selection of a | ||
physician; | ||
(2) make the session available at no cost to any person | ||
who wishes to take the session on the commission's Internet website | ||
in English, Spanish, and any other language the executive | ||
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission determines | ||
appropriate; | ||
(3) work with the Texas Pregnancy Care Network and | ||
other nonprofit organizations that the executive commissioner of | ||
the Health and Human Services Commission determines appropriate to | ||
make the session available at no cost in person to any person who | ||
wishes to take the session in person; and | ||
(4) provide a dated certificate of completion to each | ||
person who completes the session. | ||
(b) Except as provided by Section 171.103, a pregnant woman | ||
may not obtain an abortion unless the woman: | ||
(1) completes the resource awareness session | ||
described by Subsection (a) not more than 30 days and not less than | ||
24 hours before the abortion is performed or induced and submits the | ||
certificate of completion to the physician performing or inducing | ||
the abortion; or | ||
(2) submits the affidavit described by Section 171.102 | ||
to the physician performing or inducing the abortion. | ||
(c) Except as provided by Section 171.103, a physician may | ||
not perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman without first | ||
receiving from the woman: | ||
(1) a certificate of completion described by | ||
Subsection (a)(4) for a resource awareness session completed by the | ||
woman in the time authorized under Subsection (b)(1); or | ||
(2) an affidavit described by Section 171.102. | ||
(d) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human | ||
Services Commission, in consultation with the Department of State | ||
Health Services and the Department of Family and Protective | ||
Services, shall adopt the rules necessary to implement this | ||
subchapter, including rules to provide pregnant minors with access | ||
to the resource awareness session. | ||
Sec. 171.102. AFFIDAVIT IN LIEU OF CERTIFICATE OF | ||
COMPLETION. (a) A pregnant woman is not required to complete the | ||
resource awareness session described by Section 171.101 to obtain | ||
an abortion if the abortion is to be performed: | ||
(1) on a minor whose pregnancy is a result of a sexual | ||
assault, incest, or other violation of the Penal Code that has been | ||
reported to law enforcement authorities or that has not been | ||
reported because she has a reason that she declines to reveal | ||
because she reasonably believes that to do so would put her at risk | ||
of retaliation resulting in serious bodily injury; or | ||
(2) with the intent to: | ||
(A) save the life or preserve the health of an | ||
unborn child; | ||
(B) remove a dead, unborn child whose death was | ||
caused by spontaneous abortion; | ||
(C) remove an ectopic pregnancy; or | ||
(D) treat a maternal disease or illness for which | ||
a prescribed drug, medicine, or other substance is indicated. | ||
(b) To obtain an abortion, a pregnant woman who is not | ||
required to complete the resource awareness session as provided by | ||
Subsection (a) must complete and certify with her signature an | ||
affidavit stating she is not required to complete the resource | ||
awareness session for a reason listed in Subsection (a). | ||
Sec. 171.103. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not | ||
apply to an abortion performed in a medical emergency, as defined by | ||
Section 171.002. | ||
SECTION 4. (a) The executive commissioner of the Health and | ||
Human Services Commission shall adopt the rules required by | ||
Subchapter E, Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, as added by this | ||
Act, not later than January 1, 2016. | ||
(b) The Health and Human Services Commission shall make the | ||
resource awareness session described by Subchapter E, Chapter 171, | ||
Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, available not later | ||
than June 1, 2016. | ||
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
to an abortion performed or induced on or after July 1, 2016. An | ||
abortion performed or induced before July 1, 2016, is governed by | ||
the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, | ||
and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 6. 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, 2015. |