87S31122 JG-D
By: Harrison H.B. No. 168
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to informed consent before the provision of certain
medical treatments involving COVID-19 vaccination.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Texas COVID
Vaccine Freedom Act.
SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:
(1) this state is responsible for ensuring that
individuals lawfully residing in this state have the right to
provide or withhold consent for any medical treatment;
(2) the decision in Canterbury v. Spence, 464 F.2d 772
(D.C. Cir. 1972), establishing the concept of informed consent, has
become a bedrock principle of the laws of this country and of each
state;
(3) the American Medical Association's Code of Medical
Ethics Opinion 2.1.1 recognizes the right of an individual to be
fully informed of a recommended medical treatment to allow the
individual to make an informed decision regarding the individual's
course of treatment, including whether to obtain or decline a
particular medical treatment;
(4) under 42 C.F.R. Section 482.13, a hospital is
required as a condition of participation in Medicare to have in
place a process for obtaining the informed consent of a patient
before providing treatment to the patient and to ensure "[t]he
patient or his or her representative (as allowed under State law)
has the right to make informed decisions regarding his or her care";
(5) the United State Supreme Court upheld mandatory
vaccination policies imposed by state and local governments to
combat smallpox in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905),
and acknowledged in Pruneyard Shopping Ctr. v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74,
81 (1980), that a state may provide "individual liberties more
expansive than those conferred by the Federal Constitution";
(6) persons inside and outside this state have sought
or are seeking to compel or coerce individuals lawfully residing in
this state into being vaccinated against COVID-19 contrary to the
individuals' preferences;
(7) any attempt to compel or coerce an individual
lawfully residing in this state into being vaccinated against
COVID-19 contrary to the individual's preference is inconsistent
with the principles of informed consent; and
(8) Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as added
by this Act, prohibits any person from compelling or coercing an
individual lawfully residing in this state into obtaining medical
treatments involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 161, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 161.0086 to read as follows:
Sec. 161.0086. INFORMED CONSENT REQUIRED FOR MEDICAL
TREATMENTS INVOLVING COVID-19 VACCINATION. (a) In this section:
(1) "COVID-19" means the 2019 novel coronavirus
disease.
(2) "Health care provider" means an individual
licensed or otherwise authorized by this state to administer
vaccines.
(b) A person may not compel or coerce an individual lawfully
residing in this state into obtaining a medical treatment involving
the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, including a COVID-19
vaccine approved or authorized by the United States Food and Drug
Administration, contrary to the individual's vaccination
preference.
(c) A health care provider may not provide to an individual
lawfully residing in this state a medical treatment involving the
administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, including a COVID-19 vaccine
approved or authorized by the United States Food and Drug
Administration, unless the provider obtains the individual's
informed consent before administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
(d) For purposes of this section, an individual lacks the
capacity to provide informed consent for a medical treatment
involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine if the
individual has been compelled or coerced into being vaccinated
against COVID-19 contrary to the individual's vaccination
preference.
(e) A person may not take an adverse action or impose a
penalty of any kind against an individual lawfully residing in this
state for the individual's refusal or failure to obtain a medical
treatment involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.
(f) The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive
relief against a person to prevent the person from violating this
section. In an injunction issued under this subsection, a court may
include reasonable requirements to prevent further violations of
this section.
(g) A health care provider who violates Subsection (c) is
liable to the individual who is the subject of the violation for
damages in an amount of not less than $5,000. In an action brought
under this subsection, a claimant may recover reasonable expenses
incurred in bringing the action, including court costs, reasonable
attorney's fees, investigation costs, witness fees, and deposition
expenses.
SECTION 4. Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 5. If any provision of this Act or its application
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
this end the provisions of this Act are declared severable.
SECTION 6. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.