Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB619 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
	1	+	89R4858 KRM-D
1	2		By: Sparks S.B. No. 619
2		-	(In the Senate - Filed December 13, 2024; February 3, 2025,
3		-	read first time and referred to Committee on Health & Human
4		-	Services; March 31, 2025, reported favorably by the following
5		-	vote: Yeas 6, Nays 3; March 31, 2025, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
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9	7		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	8		AN ACT
11	9		relating to protection of persons from participation in a health
12	10		care service for reasons of conscience; providing a civil remedy;
13	11		authorizing disciplinary action.
14	12		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	13		SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
16	14		(1) the public policy of this state is to respect the
17	15		conscience of all health care providers and the right of each health
18	16		care provider to hold their own belief about whether certain health
19	17		care services are morally acceptable;
20	18		(2) without comprehensive protections, the conscience
21	19		of health care providers may be violated; and
22	20		(3) each health care provider must be protected from
23	21		required participation in a health care service in which the
24	22		provider has declined participation for reasons of conscience and
25	23		from discriminatory adverse action resulting from the
26	24		nonparticipation.
27	25		SECTION 2. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended
28	26		by adding Subchapter Z to read as follows:
29	27		SUBCHAPTER Z. TEXAS HEALTH CARE CONSCIENCE PROTECTION ACT
30	28		Sec. 161.751. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
31	29		(1) "Conscience" means a sincerely held set of moral
32	30		convictions arising from:
33	31		(A) a belief in and relation to God;
34	32		(B) a religious faith or spiritual practice; or
35	33		(C) a moral philosophy or ethical position,
36	34		without regard to whether the philosophy or position is related to a
37	35		religious faith.
38	36		(2) "Emergency care" means bona fide emergency
39	37		services provided after a sudden onset of a medical or traumatic
40	38		condition manifested by acute symptoms of sufficient severity,
41	39		including severe pain, that the absence of immediate medical
42	40		attention could reasonably be expected to:
43	41		(A) place the patient's health in serious
44	42		jeopardy;
45	43		(B) result in serious impairment to the patient's
46	44		bodily functions; or
47	45		(C) result in serious dysfunction of any bodily
48	46		organ or body part of the patient.
49	47		(3) "Health care facility" means a public or private
50	48		organization, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship,
51	49		association, agency, network, joint venture, or other entity that
52	50		provides health care services to patients. The term includes a
53	51		hospital, clinic, medical center, ambulatory surgical center,
54	52		private physician's office, pharmacy, nursing home, laboratory or
55	53		diagnostic facility, infirmary, dispensary, medical school,
56	54		nursing school, pharmacy school, or medical training facility.
57	55		(4) "Health care provider" means a nurse, nurse aide,
58	56		medical assistant, hospital employee, allied health professional,
59	57		laboratory technician, clinic employee, nursing home employee,
60	58		pharmacist, pharmacy employee, researcher, medical, pharmacy, or
61	59		nursing school student, professional, paraprofessional, or,
62	60		regardless of whether the person holds a license, any other person
63	61		who furnishes or assists in the furnishing of a health care service.
64	62		(5) "Health care service" means any phase of patient
65	63		health care or treatment. The term includes:
66	64		(A) examination, testing, diagnosis, referral,
67	65		prognosis, dispensing or administering a drug or device, ancillary
68	66		research, instruction, therapy, treatment, and preparing for or
69	67		performing a surgery or procedure;
70	68		(B) family planning, counseling, and referrals,
71	69		and any other advice in connection with the use or procurement of
72	70		contraceptives, sterilization, or abortion; and
73	71		(C) record preparation procedures, preparation
74	72		of treatment notes, and any other care or treatment rendered by a
75	73		health care facility, physician, or health care provider.
76	74		(6) "Physician" means an individual licensed to
77	75		practice medicine in this state.
78	76		Sec. 161.752. RIGHT TO DECLINE PARTICIPATION IN HEALTH CARE
79	77		SERVICE FOR REASONS OF CONSCIENCE; CONSTRUCTION OF SUBCHAPTER. (a)
80	78		Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person may decline to
81	79		participate in a health care service for reasons of conscience.
82	80		(b) A person may not decline to participate in the following
83	81		services:
84	82		(1) emergency care; or
85	83		(2) except as provided by Chapter 166, life-sustaining
86	84		treatment.
87	85		(c) Nothing in this subchapter may be construed to:
88	86		(1) supersede Chapter 166 governing the provision,
89	87		withholding, or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatment; or
90	88		(2) apply to emergency care, life-sustaining
91	89		treatment, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
92	90		(d) An exercise of the right of conscience under this
93	91		section is limited to a person's right to refuse to participate in a
94	92		specific health care service.
95	93		Sec. 161.753. IMMUNITY OF PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH CARE
96	94		PROVIDERS. A physician or health care provider may not be held
97	95		civilly or criminally liable because the physician or health care
98	96		provider declines to participate in a health care service wholly or
99	97		partly for reasons of conscience in accordance with Section
100	98		161.752.
101	99		Sec. 161.754. ADVERSE ACTION. A person, including a public
102	100		official and a medical school or other institution that conducts
103	101		education or training programs for physicians or health care
104	102		providers, violates this subchapter by taking an adverse action
105	103		against another person because the other person declines to
106	104		participate in a health care service for reasons of conscience in
107	105		accordance with Section 161.752. Violations include discrimination
108	106		against or taking an adverse action with regard to:
109	107		(1) licensure;
110	108		(2) certification;
111	109		(3) employment terms, benefits, seniority status,
112	110		promotion, or transfer;
113	111		(4) staff appointments or other privileges;
114	112		(5) denial of employment, admission, or participation
115	113		in a program for which the other person is eligible;
116	114		(6) reference to reasons of conscience in an
117	115		application form;
118	116		(7) questions regarding an applicant's participation
119	117		in providing a health care service for reasons of conscience;
120	118		(8) imposition of a burden in the terms or conditions
121	119		of employment;
122	120		(9) denial of aid, assistance, or benefits;
123	121		(10) conditional receipt of the aid, assistance, or
124	122		benefits; or
125	123		(11) coercion or disqualification of the other person
126	124		receiving aid, assistance, or benefits.
127	125		Sec. 161.755. PROTOCOL FOR DECLINING PARTICIPATION IN
128	126		PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICE. (a) A health care facility shall
129	127		develop a written protocol for circumstances in which a person
130	128		declines to participate in providing a health care service, other
131	129		than emergency care or life-sustaining treatment, for reasons of
132	130		conscience. The protocol must:
133	131		(1) describe a patient's access to health care
134	132		services and information to ensure the patient is not permanently
135	133		or substantially prevented from obtaining the services; and
136	134		(2) explain the process the facility will implement to
137	135		facilitate in a timely manner the patient's access to the services.
138	136		(b) A person who declines to participate in providing a
139	137		health care service for reasons of conscience shall:
140	138		(1) notify the health care facility of the
141	139		declination; and
142	140		(2) comply with the applicable protocol developed
143	141		under this section.
144	142		(c) This section does not permit a protocol developed under
145	143		this section to require a health care facility, physician, or
146	144		health care provider to counsel a patient or refer the patient to
147	145		another physician or facility regarding a health care service that
148	146		is contrary to the conscience of the physician or health care
149	147		provider.
150	148		Sec. 161.756. DISCIPLINARY ACTION; COMPLAINT. (a) A
151	149		health care facility, physician, or health care provider that holds
152	150		a license issued by a licensing agency in this state is subject to
153	151		review and disciplinary action by the licensing agency for a
154	152		violation of this subchapter as if the facility, physician, or
155	153		provider violated the applicable licensing law.
156	154		(b) A person who is injured by a violation of this
157	155		subchapter may file a complaint with the licensing agency that
158	156		issued a license to the health care facility, physician, or health
159	157		care provider that allegedly violated this subchapter.
160	158		(c) A physician or health care provider may not file a
161	159		complaint with the appropriate licensing agency under this section
162	160		unless the physician or health care provider complies with the
163	161		health care facility's protocol developed under Section 161.755.
164	162		Sec. 161.757. CIVIL REMEDIES. A person who is injured by a
165	163		violation of this subchapter may bring a civil action against a
166	164		person who violates this subchapter. A person who brings an action
167	165		under this section may obtain:
168	166		(1) injunctive relief;
169	167		(2) damages incurred by the person, including:
170	168		(A) actual damages for all psychological,
171	169		emotional, and physical injuries resulting from the violation of
172	170		this subchapter;
173	171		(B) court costs; and
174	172		(C) reasonable attorney's fees; or
175	173		(3) both injunctive relief and damages.
176	174		SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2025, a health care
177	175		facility, as that term is defined by Section 161.751, Health and
178	176		Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall develop a written protocol
179	177		as required by Section 161.755, Health and Safety Code, as added by
180	178		this Act.
181	179		SECTION 4. Section 161.753, Health and Safety Code, as
182	180		added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on
183	181		or after the effective date of this Act.
184	182		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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