Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2350 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Capriglione H.B. No. 2350
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to prohibition of abortion; creating a civil penalty
7	7	offense; providing for a civil cause of action.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Title 10, Penal Code, is amended by adding
10	10	Chapter 50 to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 50. ABORTION
12	12	Sec. 50.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
13	13	(1) "Abortion" has the meaning assigned by Section
14	14	245.002, Health and Safety Code.
15	15	(2) "Fertilization" means the point in time when a
16	16	male human sperm penetrates the zona pellucida of a female human
17	17	ovum.
18	18	(3) "Pregnant" means the female human reproductive
19	19	condition of having a living unborn child within the female's body
20	20	through the entire embryonic and fetal stages of the unborn child's
21	21	development from fertilization until birth.
22	22	(4) "Reasonable medical judgment" means a medical
23	23	judgment made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable
24	24	about the case and the treatment possibilities for the medical
25	25	conditions involved.
26	26	(5) "Unborn child" means an individual living member
27	27	of the homo sapiens species from fertilization until birth,
28	28	including the entire embryonic and fetal stages of development.
29	29	Sec. 50.02. PERFORMANCE OF ABORTION; CIVIL OFFENSE. (a) A
30	30	person may not knowingly perform or induce or attempt to perform or
31	31	induce an abortion intended to cause the death of an unborn child.
32	32	(b) A person commits a civil offense if an unborn child dies
33	33	or sustains bodily injury as a result of an abortion performed or
34	34	attempted by the person.
35	35	(c) It is an exception to the application of this section
36	36	that:
37	37	(1) the actor is a licensed physician;
38	38	(2) in the actor's reasonable medical judgment, the
39	39	pregnant female on whom the abortion is performed or attempted has a
40	40	life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or
41	41	arising from a pregnancy that places the female at risk of death or
42	42	poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily
43	43	function unless the abortion is performed; and
44	44	(3) the actor performs or attempts to perform the
45	45	abortion in a manner that, in the actor's reasonable medical
46	46	judgment, provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to
47	47	survive unless, in the actor's reasonable medical judgment, that
48	48	manner would create:
49	49	(A) a greater risk of the pregnant female's
50	50	death; or
51	51	(B) a serious risk of substantial impairment of a
52	52	major bodily function of the pregnant female.
53	53	(d) The exception provided by Subsection (c) is not
54	54	available if, at the time the abortion was performed or attempted,
55	55	the actor knew the risk of death or a substantial impairment of a
56	56	major bodily function arose from a claim or diagnosis that the
57	57	female would engage in conduct that might result in the female's
58	58	death or in substantial impairment of a major bodily function.
59	59	(e) It is an exception to the application of this section
60	60	that the conduct subject to the offense is medical treatment
61	61	provided to a pregnant female by a physician and that medical
62	62	treatment results in the accidental death of or unintentional
63	63	bodily injury to an unborn child.
64	64	(f) This section may not be construed to authorize the
65	65	prosecution of a pregnant female on whom an abortion is performed or
66	66	attempted.
67	67	Sec. 50.03. CIVIL PENALTY. A physician or health care
68	68	facility that violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of
69	69	$500 for each violation. The attorney general, at the request of the
70	70	commission or appropriate licensing agency, may file an action to
71	71	recover a civil penalty assessed under this section and may recover
72	72	attorney's fees and costs incurred in bringing the action. Each day
73	73	of a continuing violation constitutes a separate ground for
74	74	recovery.
75	75	Sec. 50.04. CIVIL REMEDIES UNAFFECTED. The fact that
76	76	conduct is a civil offense under this section does not abolish or
77	77	impair any remedy for the conduct that is available in a civil suit.
78	78	Sec. 50.05. CIVIL ACTION; PROVIDING REMEDIES. (a) Unless
79	79	the abortion is performed pursuant to the exception provided in
80	80	Section 50.02(c), a woman on whom an abortion, as defined by Section
81	81	245.002, Health and Safety Code, is performed or attempted, the
82	82	father of the unborn child or a parent of the mother of the unborn
83	83	child, if the mother is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
84	84	the abortion, may bring a civil action to obtain appropriate relief
85	85	for causing the unborn child to die or sustain bodily injury as a
86	86	result of the abortion, including:
87	87	(1) money damages for physical injury, mental anguish,
88	88	and emotional distress; and
89	89	(2) exemplary damages equal to three times the cost of
90	90	the abortion.
91	91	(b) A person may not bring or maintain an action under this
92	92	section if:
93	93	(1) the person consented to the abortion; or
94	94	(2) the person's injurious conduct resulted in the
95	95	pregnancy.
96	96	SECTION 2. Chapter 6-1/2, Title 71, Revised Statutes, is
97	97	repealed.
98	98	SECTION 3. (a) Sections 1 and 2 of this Act take effect, to
99	99	the extent permitted, on the 30th day after:
100	100	(1) the issuance of a United States Supreme Court
101	101	judgment overruling, wholly or partly, Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113
102	102	(1973), as modified by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833
103	103	(1992), thereby allowing the states to prohibit abortion;
104	104	(2) the issuance of any other United States Supreme
105	105	Court decision that recognizes, wholly or partly, the authority of
106	106	the states to prohibit abortion; or
107	107	(3) adoption of an amendment to the United States
108	108	Constitution that, wholly or partly, restores to the states the
109	109	authority to prohibit abortion.
110	110	(b) Chapter 50, Penal Code, as added by this Act, applies
111	111	only to an offense committed on or after the date described by
112	112	Subsection (a) of this section. An offense committed before the
113	113	date described by Subsection (a) of this section is governed by the
114	114	law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former
115	115	law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
116	116	subsection, an offense is committed before the date described by
117	117	Subsection (a) of this section if any element of the offense occurs
118	118	before that date.
119	119	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
120	120	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
121	121	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
122	122	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
123	123	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.