85R5919 LED-F
By: Sanford H.B. No. 2878
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the right of conscientious refusal of a health care
service.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. (a) This Act may be cited as the Texas Health
Care Right of Conscience Act.
(b) The legislature finds and declares that people and
organizations hold different beliefs about whether certain health
care services and medical care are morally acceptable. It is the
public policy of this state to:
(1) respect and protect the right of conscience of all
persons who refuse to receive, obtain, or accept, or who are engaged
in the delivery of, arrangement for, or payment of health care
services and medical care whether acting individually,
corporately, or in association with other persons;
(2) prohibit all forms of discrimination,
disqualification, coercion, disability, or imposition of liability
on those persons or entities for refusing to act contrary to their
conscience or conscientious convictions in providing, paying for,
or arranging for the payment of health care services and medical
care; and
(3) ensure that patients receive timely access to
information and medically appropriate care.
SECTION 2. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter Y to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER Y. TEXAS HEALTH CARE RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE ACT
Sec. 161.751. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Conscience" means a sincerely held set of moral
convictions arising from:
(A) a belief in and relation to God; or
(B) a place in the life of its possessor parallel
to that filled by God among adherents to religious faiths.
(2) "Conscientious refusal of a health care service"
means a person's refusal to receive, obtain, perform, assist in
performing, give advice regarding, suggest, recommend, refer, or
participate in a health care service that is contrary to the
person's conscience.
(3) "Health care facility" means a public or private
organization, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship,
association, agency, network, joint venture, or other entity that
provides health care services, including a hospital, clinic,
medical center, ambulatory surgical center, private physician's
office, pharmacy, nursing home, laboratory or diagnostic facility,
infirmary, dispensary, medical school, nursing school, or medical
training facility.
(4) "Health care provider" means a nurse, nurse aide,
medical assistant, hospital employee, clinic employee, nursing
home employee, pharmacist, pharmacy employee, researcher, medical
or nursing school student, professional, paraprofessional, or any
other individual who furnishes or assists in the furnishing of
health care services.
(5) "Health care service" means any phase of patient
medical care or treatment, including:
(A) testing, diagnosis, prognosis, ancillary
research, instruction, medication, and surgery;
(B) family planning, counseling, and referrals,
and any other advice in connection with the use or procurement of
contraceptives, sterilization, or abortion; and
(C) any other care or treatment rendered by a
health care facility, physician, or health care provider.
(6) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice
medicine in this state.
(7) "Undue delay" means an unreasonable delay that
impairs a patient's health.
Sec. 161.752. IMMUNITY OF PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH CARE
PROVIDERS. A physician or health care provider may not be held
civilly or criminally liable solely because of the physician's or
health care provider's conscientious refusal of a health care
service.
Sec. 161.753. DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO LICENSING. A
person violates this subchapter by discriminating against another
person because of the person's conscientious refusal of a health
care service, including discrimination with regard to:
(1) licensing;
(2) hiring, promoting, or transferring; and
(3) granting of staff appointments or other
privileges.
Sec. 161.754. DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO EMPLOYMENT. A
person, including a medical school or other institution that
conducts education or training programs for physicians or health
care providers, violates this subchapter by discriminating against
an applicant because of the applicant's conscientious refusal of a
health care service, including discrimination by:
(1) denying employment, admission, or participation
in a program for which an applicant is eligible;
(2) referring to conscientious refusal in an
application form;
(3) questioning an applicant regarding the applicant's
conscientious refusal of a health care service; and
(4) imposing a burden in the terms or conditions of
employment.
Sec. 161.755. DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO BENEFITS. A
person, including a public official, violates this subchapter by
discriminating against a recipient entitled to any type of aid,
assistance, or benefits because of the recipient's conscientious
refusal of a health care service, including discrimination by:
(1) denying aid, assistance, or benefits;
(2) conditioning receipt of the aid, assistance, or
benefits; or
(3) coercing or disqualifying the recipient.
Sec. 161.756. CONSCIENTIOUS REFUSAL PROTOCOL. (a) A health
care facility shall develop a written conscientious refusal
protocol describing a patient's access to care and information to
ensure that a conscientious refusal of a health care service does
not impair a patient's health. The protocol must explain the
process the health care facility will implement to address a
conscientious refusal of a health care service in a timely manner to
facilitate the patient's health care service. The protocol must, at
a minimum, require a health care facility, physician, or health
care provider to:
(1) timely inform a patient of the patient's
condition, prognosis, legal treatment options, and risks and
benefits of treatment options, consistent with accepted standards
of medical care; and
(2) provide copies of the patient's medical records to
the patient or to another health care facility, physician, or
health care provider designated by the patient in accordance with
medical privacy laws, without undue delay, if requested by the
patient or the patient's legal representative.
(b) This section does not require a health care facility,
physician, or health care provider to counsel a patient regarding a
health care service that is contrary to the conscience of the health
care facility, physician, or health care provider. The information
required by Subsection (a)(1) may be provided by a health care
facility, physician, or health care provider other than the health
care facility, physician, or health care provider with a
conscientious refusal of a health care service.
(c) A health care facility, physician, or health care
provider may not recover damages under Section 161.757 unless the
health care facility, physician, or health care provider, as
applicable, complies with the applicable health care facility's
conscientious refusal protocol developed under this section.
Sec. 161.757. VIOLATION. (a) A person who is injured by a
violation of this subchapter may bring a civil action against a
person who violates this subchapter.
(b) A person who brings an action under this section may
obtain:
(1) three times the person's actual damages, including
pain and suffering, or $2,500, whichever is greater;
(2) court costs; and
(3) reasonable attorney's fees.
(c) The civil damages authorized by this section are in
addition to any other remedy available by law.
Sec. 161.758. SOVEREIGN AND GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY WAIVED.
Sovereign and governmental immunity to suit and from liability is
waived and abolished to the extent of liability created by Section
161.757. A person may sue a governmental entity for damages allowed
by that section.
Sec. 161.759. EFFECT OF PREVIOUS AGREEMENTS. This
subchapter may not be construed to exempt a person from liability
for refusal to allow or provide a particular health care service if:
(1) the person has entered into a contract
specifically to provide that health care service; or
(2) the person has accepted federal or state funds
solely and specifically conditioned on allowing or providing that
health care service.
SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2017, a health care
facility, as that term is defined by Section 161.751, Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall adopt a conscientious
refusal protocol required by Section 161.756, Health and Safety
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 4. (a) Section 161.752, Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, does not apply to a cause of action that accrued
before the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that
accrued before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
applicable to the cause of action immediately before that date, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 161.757, Health and Safety Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after
the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that accrues
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
applicable to the cause of action immediately before that date, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.