Bill Text: TX SB2145 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to sonogram requirements for a pregnant woman seeking an abortion.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-21 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB2145 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB2145-Introduced.html

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2019S0391-1 03/07/19
By: Hall S.B. No. 2145

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to sonogram requirements for a pregnant woman seeking an
abortion.
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; 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 THAT [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 2. Section 171.0122(d), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A pregnant woman may choose not to receive the verbal
explanation of the results of the sonogram images under Section
171.012(a)(4)(C) if[:
[(1)] the woman's 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;
[(2) the woman is a minor and obtaining an abortion in
accordance with judicial bypass procedures under Chapter 33, Family
Code; or
[(3) the fetus has an irreversible medical condition
or abnormality, as previously identified by reliable diagnostic
procedures and documented in the woman's medical file].
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an abortion performed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An abortion performed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the abortion was
performed, and that law continues in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.