By: Hancock, Sparks 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 or life-limiting illnesses or medical
conditions;
(2) in approximately two percent of pregnancies, the
unborn child is diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting
illness or medical condition that may result in the child's death
before or shortly after birth; and
(3) since the lives of unborn children are no longer
prematurely taken by abortion in this state, many of the children
described by Subdivision (2) of this section 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 a pregnant woman whose unborn child is
diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness or
medical condition 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 woman
who is pregnant or delivers a child, her unborn child or infant, and
her family, from diagnosis of the unborn child's life-threatening
or life-limiting illness or medical condition through the duration
of the perinatal period and possible death as a result of the
illness or condition. The care may be provided concurrently with
methods of treatment or therapies that seek to cure or minimize the
effects of the illness or condition. The term:
(A) includes medical, social, and mental health
care, including counseling regarding treatment options, education,
informed consent, and expression of desires, 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 woman, her unborn child or infant, and her
family experience a supportive environment; and
(B) does not include an act or omission intended
to cause or hasten an unborn child's death.
(3) "Perinatal period" means the period beginning at
conception and ending on an infant's first birthday.
Sec. 161.753. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE INFORMATIONAL
MATERIALS. (a) The commission, in collaboration with the
department and the Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Advisory
Council established under Chapter 118, 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 perinatal palliative care
providers and programs in this state. The list must include the
name, physical address, and phone number of each provider or
program. 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 unless the
provider or affiliate performs abortions only during a medical
emergency as defined by Section 171.002.
(c) The commission shall post on the commission's Internet
website the list of perinatal palliative care providers and
programs, including the contact information, and note the providers
and programs that provide services free of charge.
Sec. 161.754. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE CERTIFICATION
FORM. The commission, in collaboration with the department, 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
UNBORN CHILD'S LIFE-THREATENING OR LIFE-LIMITING ILLNESS OR
MEDICAL CONDITION. A health care provider who diagnoses a pregnant
woman's unborn child as having a life-threatening or life-limiting
illness or medical condition 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. COMPLAINTS; DISCIPLINARY ACTION;
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) If a health care provider fails to
provide to a pregnant woman the perinatal palliative care
informational materials as required by Section 161.755, the woman
may submit a complaint to the commission in the form and manner the
commission prescribes.
(b) 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.