By: Paxton, et al. S.B. No. 2243
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to required counseling before an abortion is performed.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 171, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 171.01205 to read as follows:
Sec. 171.01205. PRE-ABORTION COUNSELING REQUIRED. (a) In
addition to the informed consent requirements under Section
171.012, except during a medical emergency, and before the abortion
is performed, the physician who is to perform an abortion shall
certify using a unique identifying number, devoid of personally
identifying information of the pregnant woman on whom the abortion
is to be performed, that:
(1) the pregnant woman received pre-abortion
counseling at no cost to the pregnant woman from a counselor who:
(A) meets the qualifications established by
commission rule;
(B) is not employed by, is not contracted with,
and does not have a pecuniary interest in a facility licensed under
Chapter 245;
(C) is authorized under a contract with the
commission to provide counseling services in accordance with this
subsection; and
(D) provides the certification described by
Subdivision (3) not later than one business day or as soon as
practicable after the date of the woman's initial appointment with
the counselor;
(2) the counselor provided the pregnant woman in
accordance with commission rules:
(A) medically accurate information using the
informational materials described by Section 171.014;
(B) an assessment of and offer of assistance in
obtaining support services other than abortion that the pregnant
woman may need or be eligible for, including housing, employment,
resume development, child care, medical care, adoption services,
and health benefit plan coverage;
(C) education on available state and local
resources to address the pregnant woman's socioeconomic needs; and
(D) screening for family violence, coercion of
abortion, and human trafficking; and
(3) the counselor certified using a unique identifying
number, devoid of personally identifying information of the
pregnant woman, that the pregnant woman completed the counseling.
(b) A counselor described by Subsection (a) shall report to
the commission de-identified demographic information obtained
through counseling provided under that subsection to assist the
commission in determining the supply and demand of social services
in the pregnant woman's geographic region.
SECTION 2. Section 171.0121, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 171.0121. MEDICAL RECORD. (a) Before the abortion
begins, a copy of the signed, written certification received by the
physician under Section 171.012(a)(6) and documentation of the
completed counseling required under Section 171.01205 must be
placed in the pregnant woman's medical records.
(b) A copy of the signed, written certification required
under Sections 171.012(a)(5) and (6) and documentation of the
completed counseling required under Section 171.01205 shall be
retained by the facility where the abortion is performed until:
(1) the seventh anniversary of the date it is signed;
or
(2) if the pregnant woman is a minor, the later of:
(A) the seventh anniversary of the date it is
signed; or
(B) the woman's 21st birthday.
SECTION 3. (a) Notwithstanding Section 171.01205, Health
and Safety Code, as added by this Act, and Section 171.0121, Health
and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, a physician is not required
to comply with the changes in law made by this Act before March 1,
2021.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2020, the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
adopt rules as necessary to implement this Act.
(c) Not later than March 1, 2021, the Health and Human
Services Commission shall contract with one or more counseling
providers throughout the state to provide the services described by
Section 171.01205, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an abortion performed on or after March 1, 2021. An abortion
performed before March 1, 2021, is governed by the law applicable to
the abortion immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. It is the intent of the legislature that every
provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to
each person or entity, are severable from each other. If any
application of any provision in this Act to any person, group of
persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be invalid for any
reason, the remaining applications of that provision to all other
persons and circumstances shall be severed and may not be affected.
SECTION 6. The Health and Human Services Commission is
required to implement a provision of this Act only if the
legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If
the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
purpose, the commission may, but is not required to, implement a
provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that
purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.