89R4802 JG-D
By: Goodwin H.B. No. 2251
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to exceptions to and the repeal of certain laws
prohibiting abortion.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 170A.002(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The prohibition under Subsection (a) does not apply if:
(1) the person performing, inducing, or attempting the
abortion is a licensed physician; and
(2) in the exercise of reasonable medical judgment,
the pregnant female on whom the abortion is performed, induced, or
attempted:
(A) has a medical condition that places the
female's current or future health at risk unless the pregnancy is
terminated;
(B) is pregnant with a fetus that has a severe or
usually lethal congenital anomaly;
(C) is pregnant with two or more fetuses and at
least one fetus poses a risk to the health of another fetus;
(D) has experienced, is experiencing, or is
likely to experience a miscarriage that places the female's current
or future health at risk unless the uterine contents are removed or
the pregnancy is terminated; or
(E) was impregnated as a result of conduct
constituting an offense under Section 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02,
Penal Code [has a life-threatening physical condition aggravated
by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that places the female at
risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a
major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced;
and
[(3) the person performs, induces, or attempts the
abortion in a manner that, in the exercise of reasonable medical
judgment, provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to
survive unless, in the reasonable medical judgment, that manner
would create:
[(A) a greater risk of the pregnant female's
death; or
[(B) a serious risk of substantial impairment of
a major bodily function of the pregnant female].
SECTION 2. Section 170A.007, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 170A.007. DISCIPLINARY ACTION. In addition to any
other penalty that may be imposed under this chapter, the
appropriate licensing authority shall revoke the license, permit,
registration, certificate, or other authority of a [physician or
other] health care professional who performs, induces, or attempts
an abortion in violation of Section 170A.002.
SECTION 3. Chapter 170A, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Section 170A.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 170A.008. EXCEPTION TO CRIMINAL, CIVIL, AND
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES; REFERRAL FOR CERTAIN DISCIPLINARY
ACTION. (a) Sections 170A.004, 170A.005, and 170A.007 do not apply
to a physician licensed in this state.
(b) A physician licensed in this state who is alleged to
have performed, induced, or attempted an abortion in violation of
Section 170A.002 may be referred to the Texas Medical Board for:
(1) investigation; and
(2) appropriate disciplinary action if the board
determines the physician violated that section.
SECTION 4. Sections 171.205(a) and (b), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Sections 171.203 and 171.204 do not apply if a
physician, in the exercise of reasonable medical judgment,
determines the pregnant female on whom the abortion is performed,
induced, or attempted:
(1) has a medical condition that places the female's
current or future health at risk unless the pregnancy is
terminated;
(2) is pregnant with a fetus that has a severe or
usually lethal congenital anomaly;
(3) is pregnant with two or more fetuses and at least
one fetus poses a risk to the health of another fetus;
(4) has experienced, is experiencing, or is likely to
experience a miscarriage that places the female's current or future
health at risk unless the uterine contents are removed or the
pregnancy is terminated; or
(5) was impregnated as a result of conduct
constituting an offense under Section 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02,
Penal Code [believes a medical emergency exists that prevents
compliance with this subchapter].
(b) A physician who performs or induces an abortion under
circumstances described by Subsection (a) shall make written
notations in the pregnant woman's medical record of:
(1) the physician's belief that one or more of the
circumstances described by Subsection (a) [a medical emergency]
necessitated the abortion; and
(2) the specific circumstances [medical condition of
the pregnant woman] that prevented compliance with this subchapter.
SECTION 5. Section 171.206(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) This subchapter may not be construed to:
(1) authorize the initiation of a cause of action
against or the prosecution of a woman on whom an abortion is
performed or induced or attempted to be performed or induced in
violation of this subchapter;
(2) wholly or partly repeal, either expressly or by
implication, any other statute that regulates or prohibits
abortion[, including Chapter 6-1/2, Title 71, Revised Statutes]; or
(3) restrict a political subdivision from regulating
or prohibiting abortion in a manner that is at least as stringent as
the laws of this state.
SECTION 6. Section 171.207(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Subsection (a) may not be construed to:
(1) legalize the conduct prohibited by this subchapter
[or by Chapter 6-1/2, Title 71, Revised Statutes];
(2) limit in any way or affect the availability of a
remedy established by Section 171.208; or
(3) limit the enforceability of any other laws that
regulate or prohibit abortion.
SECTION 7. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Section 170A.002(c), Health and Safety Code; and
(2) Chapter 6-1/2, Title 71, Revised Statutes.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.