89R8985 MCF-F
By: Hancock S.B. No. 1233
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to information regarding perinatal palliative care;
creating an administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Perinatal Palliative
Care Act.
SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:
(1) palliative care is a critical form of care
provided to alleviate the pain and suffering of individuals with
severe life-threatening disabilities or diseases;
(2) in approximately two percent of pregnancies, the
preborn child is diagnosed with a life-threatening medical
condition that will likely result in the child's death before or
shortly after birth; and
(3) since the lives of preborn children are no longer
prematurely taken by abortion in this state, many of the children
described by Subdivision (2) are born alive.
SECTION 3. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter Z to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER Z. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE
Sec. 161.751. PURPOSE OF SUBCHAPTER. The purpose of this
subchapter is to ensure that a pregnant woman whose preborn child is
diagnosed with a life-threatening disability is informed of the
availability of perinatal palliative care.
Sec. 161.752. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Health care provider" has the meaning assigned by
Section 34.001.
(2) "Perinatal palliative care" means the provision of
comprehensive, supportive care to reduce the suffering of a
pregnant woman, her preborn child, and her family, from diagnosis
of the preborn child's life-threatening disability through the
child's delivery and possible death as a result of the
life-threatening disability. The term includes medical, social,
and mental health care, including counseling and health care
provided by maternal-fetal medical specialists, obstetricians,
neonatologists, anesthesia specialists, specialty nurses, clergy,
social workers, and other individuals focused on alleviating fear
and pain and ensuring the pregnant woman, her preborn child, and her
family experience a supportive environment. The term does not
include an act or omission intended to cause or hasten a preborn
child's death.
Sec. 161.753. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE INFORMATIONAL
MATERIALS. (a) The commission shall develop perinatal palliative
care informational materials and post the materials on the
commission's Internet website. The materials must include:
(1) a description of the health care and other
services available through perinatal palliative care; and
(2) information about medical assistance benefits
that may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and perinatal
palliative care.
(b) The commission shall develop, regularly update, and
publish a geographically indexed list of all perinatal palliative
care providers and programs in this state. The commission may
include perinatal palliative care providers and programs in other
states that provide care to residents of this state but may not
include an abortion provider, as defined by Section 171.002, or an
affiliate, as defined by Section 2273.001, Government Code, of an
abortion provider.
(c) The commission shall post on the commission's Internet
website the list of perinatal palliative care providers and
programs, including contact information, and note the providers and
programs that provide services free of charge.
Sec. 161.754. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE CERTIFICATION
FORM. The commission shall develop a form on which a pregnant woman
certifies she received the perinatal palliative care informational
materials and list of the perinatal palliative care providers and
programs described by Section 161.753.
Sec. 161.755. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER DUTIES ON DIAGNOSIS OF
PREBORN CHILD'S LIFE-THREATENING DISABILITY. A health care
provider who diagnoses a pregnant woman's preborn child as having a
life-threatening disability shall, at the time of the diagnosis:
(1) provide the pregnant woman with a written copy of:
(A) the perinatal palliative care informational
materials and list of the perinatal palliative care providers and
programs described by Section 161.753; and
(B) the perinatal palliative care certification
form described by Section 161.754; and
(2) obtain from the pregnant woman the signed
perinatal palliative care certification form and place the form in
the pregnant woman's medical records.
Sec. 161.756. EXCEPTION. A health care provider is not
required to provide the perinatal palliative care informational
materials or perinatal palliative care certification form under
this subchapter if the health care provider verifies the pregnant
woman's medical record contains a signed perinatal palliative care
certification form for that pregnancy as required under Section
161.755(2).
Sec. 161.757. DISCIPLINARY ACTION; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.
A health care provider who violates Section 161.755 is subject to
disciplinary action by the state licensing agency that regulates
the provider. On determining the provider committed a violation,
the agency shall:
(1) for an initial violation, issue a written warning
to the provider; and
(2) for each subsequent violation, impose on the
provider an administrative penalty in the amount of $1,000.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.