Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2197 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R10089 JG-F
2	2	By: Money H.B. No. 2197
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the protection of an unborn child's rights and criminal
10	10	liability and justification for prohibited conduct.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Acknowledging the sanctity of innocent human
13	13	life created in the image of God, the purposes of this Act are to:
14	14	(1) follow the United States Constitution, which
15	15	provides that "[n]o State shall . . . deny to any person within its
16	16	jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws";
17	17	(2) protect the lives of preborn children with the
18	18	same criminal and civil laws protecting the lives of human beings
19	19	born alive by repealing laws that permit wilful prenatal homicide
20	20	and assault;
21	21	(3) repeal laws that could be interpreted as allowing
22	22	a person to pressure a pregnant mother to obtain an abortion; and
23	23	(4) secure the right to life and equal protection of
24	24	the laws for all preborn children from the moment of fertilization
25	25	and to protect pregnant mothers.
26	26	SECTION 2. Section 1.07(a)(26), Penal Code, is amended to
27	27	read as follows:
28	28	(26) "Individual" means a human being who is alive,
29	29	including an unborn child at every stage of development [gestation]
30	30	from fertilization until birth.
31	31	SECTION 3. Chapter 19, Penal Code, is amended by adding
32	32	Section 19.07 to read as follows:
33	33	Sec. 19.07. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER TO UNBORN VICTIMS.
34	34	(a) The provisions of this chapter apply equally to an offense
35	35	committed against any victim, regardless of whether the victim is
36	36	an unborn child or an individual who was born alive.
37	37	(b) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the
38	38	unintentional injury or death of an unborn child resulting from:
39	39	(1) lifesaving procedures undertaken to save the life
40	40	of a pregnant mother when accompanied by reasonable and available
41	41	steps to save the life of the mother's unborn child; or
42	42	(2) a spontaneous miscarriage.
43	43	SECTION 4. Chapter 22, Penal Code, is amended by adding
44	44	Section 22.13 to read as follows:
45	45	Sec. 22.13. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER TO UNBORN VICTIMS.
46	46	(a) The provisions of this chapter apply equally to an offense
47	47	committed against any victim, regardless of whether the victim is
48	48	an unborn child or an individual who was born alive.
49	49	(b) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the
50	50	unintentional injury or death of an unborn child resulting from:
51	51	(1) lifesaving procedures undertaken to save the life
52	52	of a pregnant mother when accompanied by reasonable and available
53	53	steps to save the life of the mother's unborn child; or
54	54	(2) a spontaneous miscarriage.
55	55	SECTION 5. Section 71.003, Civil Practice and Remedies
56	56	Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
57	57	(c-1) This subchapter does not apply to the unintentional
58	58	injury or death of an unborn child resulting from:
59	59	(1) lifesaving procedures undertaken to save the life
60	60	of a pregnant mother when accompanied by reasonable and available
61	61	steps to save the life of the mother's unborn child; or
62	62	(2) a spontaneous miscarriage.
63	63	SECTION 6. The following provisions are repealed:
64	64	(1) Section 71.003(c), Civil Practice and Remedies
65	65	Code;
66	66	(2) Section 19.06, Penal Code; and
67	67	(3) Section 22.12, Penal Code.
68	68	SECTION 7. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to the
69	69	Penal Code apply only to an offense committed on or after the
70	70	effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
71	71	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
72	72	offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for
73	73	that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed
74	74	before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
75	75	occurs before the effective date.
76	76	(b) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c) of this
77	77	section, Section 71.003, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
78	78	amended by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
79	79	the effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the
80	80	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
81	81	immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
82	82	continued in effect for that purpose.
83	83	(c) The repeal by this Act of Section 71.003(c), Civil
84	84	Practice and Remedies Code, applies only to a cause of action that
85	85	accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of
86	86	action that accrues before the effective date of this Act is
87	87	governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective
88	88	date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that
89	89	purpose.
90	90	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.