By: Patrick, Campbell S.B. No. 97
(In the Senate - Filed November 12, 2012; January 28, 2013,
read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human
Services; March 28, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 3;
March 28, 2013, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 97 By: Deuell
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to distributing or prescribing abortion-inducing drugs;
providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. ABORTION-INDUCING DRUGS
Sec. 171.051. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Abortion" means the act of using, administering,
prescribing, or otherwise providing an instrument, a drug, a
medicine, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent
to terminate a clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman and with
knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable
likelihood, cause the death of the woman's unborn child. An act is
not an abortion if the act is done 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.
(2) "Abortion-inducing drug" means a drug, a medicine,
or any other substance, including a regimen of two or more drugs,
medicines, or substances, prescribed, dispensed, or administered
with the intent of terminating a clinically diagnosable pregnancy
of a woman and with knowledge that the termination will, with
reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the woman's unborn child.
The term includes off-label use of drugs, medicines, or other
substances known to have abortion-inducing properties that are
prescribed, dispensed, or administered with the intent of causing
an abortion, including the Mifeprex regimen. The term does not
include a drug, medicine, or other substance that may be known to
cause an abortion but is prescribed, dispensed, or administered for
other medical reasons.
(3) "Final printed label" or "FPL" means the
informational document approved by the United States Food and Drug
Administration for an abortion-inducing drug that:
(A) outlines the protocol authorized by that
agency and agreed to by the drug company applying for authorization
of the drug by that agency; and
(B) delineates how a drug is to be used according
to approval by that agency.
(4) "Gestational age" means the amount of time that
has elapsed since the first day of a woman's last menstrual period.
(5) "Medical abortion" means the administration or use
of an abortion-inducing drug to induce an abortion.
(6) "Mifeprex regimen," "RU-486 regimen," or "RU-486"
means the abortion-inducing drug regimen approved by the United
States Food and Drug Administration that consists of administering
mifepristone and misoprostol.
(7) "Physician" means an individual who is licensed to
practice medicine in this state, including a medical doctor and a
doctor of osteopathic medicine.
(8) "Pregnant" means the female reproductive
condition of having an unborn child in a woman's uterus.
(9) "Unborn child" means an offspring of human beings
from conception until birth.
Sec. 171.052. ENFORCEMENT BY TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD.
Notwithstanding Section 171.005, the Texas Medical Board shall
enforce this subchapter.
Sec. 171.053. DISTRIBUTION OF ABORTION-INDUCING DRUG.
(a) A person may not knowingly give, sell, dispense, administer,
provide, or prescribe an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant woman
for the purpose of inducing an abortion in the pregnant woman or
enabling another person to induce an abortion in the pregnant woman
unless:
(1) the person who gives, sells, dispenses,
administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug is
a physician; and
(2) the provision, prescription, or administration of
the abortion-inducing drug satisfies the protocol tested and
authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration as
outlined in the final printed label of the abortion-inducing drug.
(b) Before the physician gives, sells, dispenses,
administers, provides, or prescribes an abortion-inducing drug,
the physician must examine the pregnant woman and document, in the
woman's medical record, the gestational age and intrauterine
location of the pregnancy.
(c) The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers,
provides, or prescribes an abortion-inducing drug shall provide the
pregnant woman with:
(1) a copy of the final printed label of that
abortion-inducing drug; and
(2) a telephone number by which the pregnant woman may
reach the physician, or other health care personnel employed by the
physician or by the facility at which the abortion was performed
with access to the woman's relevant medical records, 24 hours a day
to request assistance for any complications that arise from the
administration or use of the drug or ask health-related questions
regarding the administration or use of the drug.
(d) The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers,
provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug, or the
physician's agent, must schedule a follow-up visit for the woman to
occur not more than 14 days after the administration or use of the
drug. At the follow-up visit, the physician must:
(1) confirm that the pregnancy is completely
terminated; and
(2) assess the degree of bleeding.
(e) The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers,
provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug, or the
physician's agent, shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that
the woman returns for the scheduled follow-up visit under
Subsection (d). The physician or the physician's agent shall
document a brief description of any effort made to comply with this
subsection, including the date, time, and name of the person making
the effort, in the woman's medical record.
(f) If a physician gives, sells, dispenses, administers,
provides, or prescribes an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant
woman for the purpose of inducing an abortion as authorized by this
section and the physician knows that the woman experiences a
serious adverse event, as defined by the MedWatch Reporting System,
during or after the administration or use of the drug, the physician
shall report the event to the United States Food and Drug
Administration through the MedWatch Reporting System not later than
the third day after the date the physician learns that the event
occurred.
Sec. 171.054. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) The Texas
Medical Board may take disciplinary action under Chapter 164,
Occupations Code, or assess an administrative penalty under
Subchapter A, Chapter 165, Occupations Code, against a person who
violates Section 171.053.
(b) A penalty may not be assessed under this section against
a pregnant woman who receives a medical abortion.
SECTION 2. 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, 2013.
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