Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2968 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R10257 SJM-D
2	2	By: Coleman H.B. No. 2968
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to voluntary and informed consent for an abortion.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 171.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	(a) Except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to an
12	12	abortion is voluntary and informed only if:
13	13	(1) the physician who is to perform the abortion or the
14	14	referring physician informs the woman on whom the abortion is to be
15	15	performed of:
16	16	(A) the name of the physician who will perform
17	17	the abortion;
18	18	(B) the particular medical risks associated with
19	19	the particular abortion procedure to be employed, including, when
20	20	medically accurate:
21	21	(i) the risks of infection and hemorrhage;
22	22	and
23	23	(ii) the potential danger to a subsequent
24	24	pregnancy and of infertility; [and
25	25	[(iii) the possibility of increased risk of
26	26	breast cancer following an induced abortion and the natural
27	27	protective effect of a completed pregnancy in avoiding breast
28	28	cancer;]
29	29	(C) the probable gestational age of the unborn
30	30	child at the time the abortion is to be performed; and
31	31	(D) the medical risks associated with carrying
32	32	the child to term;
33	33	(2) the physician who is to perform the abortion or the
34	34	physician's agent informs the woman that:
35	35	(A) medical assistance benefits may be available
36	36	for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care;
37	37	(B) the father is liable for assistance in the
38	38	support of the child without regard to whether the father has
39	39	offered to pay for the abortion;
40	40	(C) public and private agencies provide
41	41	pregnancy prevention counseling and medical referrals for
42	42	obtaining pregnancy prevention medications or devices, including
43	43	emergency contraception for victims of rape or incest; and
44	44	(D) the woman has the right to review the printed
45	45	materials described by Section 171.014, that those materials have
46	46	been provided by the [Texas] Department of State Health Services
47	47	and are accessible on an Internet website sponsored by the
48	48	department, and that the materials describe the unborn child and
49	49	list agencies that offer alternatives to abortion;
50	50	(3) the woman certifies in writing before the abortion
51	51	is performed that the information described by Subdivisions (1) and
52	52	(2) has been provided to her and that she has been informed of her
53	53	opportunity to review the information described by Section 171.014;
54	54	and
55	55	(4) before the abortion is performed, the physician
56	56	who is to perform the abortion receives a copy of the written
57	57	certification required by Subdivision (3).
58	58	SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2009, the
59	59	Department of State Health Services shall:
60	60	(1) revise the informational materials the department
61	61	is required to publish under Section 171.014, Health and Safety
62	62	Code; and
63	63	(2) make the materials available for distribution.
64	64	(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to the
65	65	abortion information a physician is required to provide under
66	66	Section 171.012, Health and Safety Code, on or after January 1,
67	67	2010.
68	68	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.