HOUSE BILL 111
By Lamberth
SENATE BILL 1283
By Johnson
SB1283
000191
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section
68-5-602, relative to maternal health screening.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-5-602(a), is amended by deleting
the subsection and substituting:
(a) Every physician, surgeon, or other person permitted by law to attend a
pregnant woman during gestation shall, in the case of each woman so attended, take or
cause to be taken a sample of the blood of the woman at the time of first examination
and visit or within ten (10) days after the first examination. If the first visit is at the time
of delivery, or after delivery, then the standard serological test required by this
subsection (a) must be performed at that time. The blood sample must be sent to a
laboratory approved by the department for testing for syphilis infection, rubella immunity,
hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV) with automatic
reflex to HCV RNA if anti-HCV is reactive. In the same manner, a sample of blood must
be taken and tested between the twenty-eighth and thirty-second week of gestation for
syphilis for all pregnant women. In the same manner, a sample of blood must be taken
and tested for syphilis for all pregnant women at the time of delivery. Additional testing
for rubella immunity is not required in subsequent pregnancies once a positive result is
verified or a documented history of vaccination against rubella is available. All positive
tests for syphilis, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C must be reported to the local health
department in accordance with this chapter, and regulations governing the control of
communicable diseases in this state.
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SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-5-602(b), is amended by deleting
the subsection and substituting:
(b) Every person attending a pregnant woman who is not permitted by law to
take blood samples shall cause a sample of blood to be taken and tested by a health
provider permitted by law to take the samples as required in subsection (a).
SECTION 3. This act takes effect on July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.