|
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
relating to information regarding perinatal palliative care, |
|
regulation of abortion, and the availability of certain defenses to |
|
prosecution for homicide and assault offenses; creating a criminal |
|
offense. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
ARTICLE 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS |
|
SECTION 1.01. The legislature finds that: |
|
(1) Texas has a compelling state interest in |
|
protecting all Texans from discrimination based on sex, race, and |
|
disability; |
|
(2) Texas enforces prohibitions against |
|
discrimination based on sex, race, and disability in various areas, |
|
including housing, employment, education, insurance, and health |
|
program and service provision; and |
|
(3) Texas never repealed, either expressly or by |
|
implication, the state statutes enacted before the ruling in Roe v. |
|
Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), that prohibit and criminalize abortion |
|
unless the mother's life is in danger. |
|
ARTICLE 2. DISCRIMINATORY ABORTIONS PROHIBITED |
|
SECTION 2.01. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by adding Subchapter X to read as follows: |
|
SUBCHAPTER X. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE |
|
Sec. 161.701. PURPOSE OF SUBCHAPTER. The purpose of this |
|
subchapter is to ensure that a pregnant woman who receives a |
|
diagnosis of a life-threatening disability of the woman's preborn |
|
child is informed of the availability of perinatal palliative care. |
|
Sec. 161.702. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "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 delivery and possible |
|
death of the child 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. |
|
Sec. 161.703. 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 2272.001, Government Code, as |
|
added by Chapter 501 (S.B. 22), Acts of the 86th Legislature, |
|
Regular Session, 2019, of an abortion provider. The commission |
|
shall post the list of perinatal palliative care providers and |
|
programs, including contact information, on the commission's |
|
Internet website and note the providers and programs that provide |
|
services free of charge. |
|
Sec. 161.704. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE CERTIFICATION |
|
FORM. The commission shall develop a form on which a pregnant woman |
|
certifies that she has received the perinatal palliative care |
|
informational materials and list of the perinatal palliative care |
|
providers and programs described by Section 161.703. |
|
Sec. 161.705. 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 161.703; and |
|
(B) the perinatal palliative care certification |
|
form described by Section 161.704; 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. 161.706. 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 |
|
161.705(2). |
|
SECTION 2.02. Chapter 170, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by designating Sections 170.001 and 170.002 as Subchapter A |
|
and adding a subchapter heading to read as follows: |
|
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS; POST-VIABILITY ABORTION |
|
PROHIBITED |
|
SECTION 2.03. Section 170.001, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by adding Subdivision (2-a) to read as follows: |
|
(2-a) "Preborn child" means an unborn child as defined |
|
by Section 171.061. |
|
SECTION 2.04. Section 170.002, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 170.002. PROHIBITED ACTS; EXEMPTION. (a) Except as |
|
provided by Subsection (b), a person may not intentionally or |
|
knowingly perform or induce an abortion on a woman who is pregnant |
|
with a preborn [viable unborn] child during the third trimester of |
|
the pregnancy. |
|
(b) Subsection (a) does not prohibit a person from |
|
performing or inducing an abortion if at the time of the abortion |
|
the person is a physician and concludes in good faith according to |
|
the physician's best medical judgment that[: |
|
[(1) the fetus is not a viable fetus and the pregnancy |
|
is not in the third trimester; |
|
[(2)] the abortion is necessary due to a medical |
|
emergency, as defined by Section 171.002 [to prevent the death or a |
|
substantial risk of serious impairment to the physical or mental |
|
health of the woman; or |
|
[(3) the fetus has a severe and irreversible |
|
abnormality, identified by reliable diagnostic procedures]. |
|
(c) A physician who performs or induces an abortion that, |
|
according to the physician's best medical judgment at the time of |
|
the abortion, is to abort a preborn [viable unborn] child during the |
|
third trimester of the pregnancy shall certify in writing to the |
|
commission, on a form prescribed by the commission, the medical |
|
indications supporting the physician's judgment that the abortion |
|
was authorized by Subsection (b) [(b)(2) or (3). If the physician |
|
certifies the abortion was authorized by Subsection (b)(3), the |
|
physician shall certify in writing on the form the fetal |
|
abnormality identified by the physician]. The certification must |
|
be made not later than the 30th day after the date the abortion was |
|
performed or induced. |
|
SECTION 2.05. Chapter 170, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by adding Subchapter B to read as follows: |
|
SUBCHAPTER B. PREBORN NONDISCRIMINATION ACT |
|
Sec. 170.051. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "disability" |
|
means: |
|
(1) a physical or mental impairment that would |
|
substantially limit one or more of an individual's major life |
|
activities; |
|
(2) an assessment referencing an individual's |
|
impairment described by Subdivision (1); or |
|
(3) a physical disfigurement, scoliosis, dwarfism, |
|
Down syndrome, albinism, amelia, or any other type of physical, |
|
mental, or intellectual abnormality or disease. |
|
Sec. 170.052. DISCRIMINATORY ABORTION PROHIBITED. A person |
|
may not: |
|
(1) knowingly perform or induce or attempt to perform |
|
or induce on a pregnant woman an abortion based on the race, |
|
ethnicity, sex, or disability of the woman's preborn child, |
|
including a probability of diagnosis that the child has a |
|
disability; or |
|
(2) use force or the threat of force to intentionally |
|
injure or intimidate a person to coerce the performance or |
|
inducement or attempted performance or inducement of an abortion |
|
based on the race, ethnicity, sex, or disability of the woman's |
|
preborn child, including a probability of diagnosis that the child |
|
has a disability. |
|
Sec. 170.053. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates |
|
Section 170.052 commits an offense. An offense under this |
|
subsection is a Class A misdemeanor. |
|
(b) A woman on whom an abortion is performed or induced or |
|
attempted to be performed or induced in violation of Section |
|
170.052 may not be prosecuted for a violation of that section or for |
|
conspiracy to commit a violation of that section. |
|
Sec. 170.054. LICENSE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION. A |
|
physician who violates Section 170.052 engages in unprofessional |
|
conduct for which the physician's license may be suspended or |
|
revoked under Chapter 164, Occupations Code. |
|
Sec. 170.055. CIVIL REMEDIES. (a) A civil action may be |
|
brought against a person who violates Section 170.052 by: |
|
(1) the woman on whom an abortion was performed or |
|
induced or attempted to be performed or induced in violation of |
|
Section 170.052; |
|
(2) the father of the preborn child for an abortion |
|
performed or induced or attempted to be performed or induced on a |
|
pregnant woman in violation of Section 170.052, unless the woman's |
|
pregnancy resulted from the father's criminal conduct; or |
|
(3) a maternal grandparent of the preborn child for an |
|
abortion performed or induced or attempted to be performed or |
|
induced in violation of Section 170.052 on a pregnant woman who was |
|
less than 18 years of age at the time of the violation, unless the |
|
woman's pregnancy resulted from the maternal grandparent's criminal |
|
conduct. |
|
(b) A person who brings an action under this section may |
|
obtain: |
|
(1) injunctive relief; |
|
(2) damages incurred by the person, including: |
|
(A) actual damages for all psychological, |
|
emotional, and physical injuries resulting from the violation of |
|
Section 170.052; |
|
(B) court costs; and |
|
(C) reasonable attorney's fees; or |
|
(3) both injunctive relief and damages. |
|
(c) An action for damages or injunctive relief under this |
|
section must be filed: |
|
(1) in a district court in the county in which the |
|
woman on whom an abortion was performed or induced or attempted to |
|
be performed or induced in violation of Section 170.052 resides; |
|
and |
|
(2) not later than the sixth anniversary of the date |
|
the abortion was performed or induced or attempted to be performed |
|
or induced in violation of Section 170.052. |
|
(d) The damages and injunctive relief authorized by this |
|
section are in addition to any other remedy available by law. |
|
(e) A civil action under this section may not be brought |
|
against a woman on whom an abortion is performed or induced or |
|
attempted to be performed or induced in violation of Section |
|
170.052. |
|
SECTION 2.06. Section 171.002, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by adding Subdivision (3-a) to read as follows: |
|
(3-a) "Preborn child" means an unborn child as defined |
|
by Section 171.061. |
|
SECTION 2.07. Subchapter A, Chapter 171, Health and Safety |
|
Code, is amended by adding Sections 171.0055 and 171.008 to read as |
|
follows: |
|
Sec. 171.0055. REPORT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. (a) The |
|
attorney general shall certify and submit a written report to the |
|
governor and the legislature not later than the 31st day after the |
|
date any of the following occurs: |
|
(1) the issuance of a United States Supreme Court |
|
judgment in a decision overruling, wholly or partly, Roe v. Wade, |
|
410 U.S. 113 (1973), as modified by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 |
|
U.S. 833 (1992), thereby allowing the states to prohibit abortion; |
|
(2) the issuance of any other United States Supreme |
|
Court judgment in a decision that recognizes, wholly or partly, the |
|
authority of states to prohibit abortion; or |
|
(3) the adoption of an amendment to the United States |
|
Constitution that, wholly or partly, restores to the states the |
|
authority to prohibit abortion. |
|
(b) The attorney general shall make available a copy of the |
|
report required by Subsection (a) on the attorney general's |
|
Internet website not later than the 31st day after the date the |
|
attorney general submits the report. |
|
Sec. 171.008. REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION. (a) If an abortion |
|
is performed or induced on a pregnant woman because of a medical |
|
emergency, the physician who performs or induces the abortion shall |
|
execute a written document that certifies the abortion is necessary |
|
due to a medical emergency and specifies the woman's medical |
|
condition requiring the abortion. |
|
(b) A physician shall: |
|
(1) place the document described by Subsection (a) in |
|
the pregnant woman's medical record; and |
|
(2) maintain a copy of the document described by |
|
Subsection (a) in the physician's practice records. |
|
(c) A physician who performs or induces an abortion on a |
|
pregnant woman shall: |
|
(1) if the abortion is performed or induced to |
|
preserve the health of the pregnant woman, execute a written |
|
document that: |
|
(A) specifies the medical condition the abortion |
|
is asserted to address; and |
|
(B) provides the medical rationale for the |
|
physician's conclusion that the abortion is necessary to address |
|
the medical condition; or |
|
(2) for an abortion other than an abortion described |
|
by Subdivision (1), specify in a written document that maternal |
|
health is not a purpose of the abortion. |
|
(d) The physician shall maintain a copy of a document |
|
described by Subsection (c) in the physician's practice records. |
|
SECTION 2.08. Section 171.012, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (g) and |
|
(h) to read as follows: |
|
(a) Consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed only |
|
if: |
|
(1) the physician who is to perform or induce the |
|
abortion informs the pregnant woman on whom the abortion is to be |
|
performed or induced of: |
|
(A) the physician's name; |
|
(B) the particular medical risks associated with |
|
the particular abortion procedure to be employed, including, when |
|
medically accurate: |
|
(i) the risks of infection and hemorrhage; |
|
(ii) the potential danger to a subsequent |
|
pregnancy and of infertility; and |
|
(iii) the possibility of increased risk of |
|
breast cancer following an induced abortion and the natural |
|
protective effect of a completed pregnancy in avoiding breast |
|
cancer; |
|
(C) the probable gestational age of the preborn |
|
[unborn] child at the time the abortion is to be performed or |
|
induced; [and] |
|
(D) the medical risks associated with carrying |
|
the preborn child to term; and |
|
(E) the state law prohibiting abortion of a |
|
preborn child solely based on the preborn child's race, ethnicity, |
|
sex, or disability as defined by Section 170.051, including a |
|
probability of diagnosis that the child has a disability; |
|
(2) the physician who is to perform or induce the |
|
abortion or the physician's agent informs the pregnant woman that: |
|
(A) medical assistance benefits may be available |
|
for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care; |
|
(B) the father is liable for assistance in the |
|
support of the child without regard to whether the father has |
|
offered to pay for the abortion; and |
|
(C) public and private agencies provide |
|
pregnancy prevention counseling and medical referrals for |
|
obtaining pregnancy prevention medications or devices, including |
|
emergency contraception for victims of rape or incest; |
|
(3) the physician who is to perform or induce the |
|
abortion or the physician's agent: |
|
(A) provides the pregnant woman with the printed |
|
materials described by Section 171.014; and |
|
(B) informs the pregnant woman that those |
|
materials: |
|
(i) have been provided by the commission |
|
[Department of State Health Services]; |
|
(ii) are accessible on an Internet website |
|
sponsored by the commission [department]; |
|
(iii) describe the preborn [unborn] child |
|
and list agencies that offer alternatives to abortion; and |
|
(iv) include a list of agencies that offer |
|
sonogram services at no cost to the pregnant woman; |
|
(4) before any sedative or anesthesia is administered |
|
to the pregnant woman and at least 24 hours before the abortion or |
|
at least two hours before the abortion if the pregnant woman waives |
|
this requirement by certifying that she currently lives 100 miles |
|
or more from the nearest abortion provider that is a facility |
|
licensed under Chapter 245 or a facility that performs or induces |
|
more than 50 abortions in any 12-month period: |
|
(A) the physician who is to perform or induce the |
|
abortion or an agent of the physician who is also a sonographer |
|
certified by a national registry of medical sonographers performs a |
|
sonogram on the pregnant woman on whom the abortion is to be |
|
performed or induced; |
|
(B) the physician who is to perform or induce the |
|
abortion displays the sonogram images in a quality consistent with |
|
current medical practice in a manner that the pregnant woman may |
|
view them; |
|
(C) the physician who is to perform or induce the |
|
abortion provides, in a manner understandable to a layperson, a |
|
verbal explanation of the results of the sonogram images, including |
|
a medical description of the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, the |
|
presence of cardiac activity, and the presence of external members |
|
and internal organs; and |
|
(D) the physician who is to perform or induce the |
|
abortion or an agent of the physician who is also a sonographer |
|
certified by a national registry of medical sonographers makes |
|
audible the heart auscultation for the pregnant woman to hear, if |
|
present, in a quality consistent with current medical practice and |
|
provides, in a manner understandable to a layperson, a simultaneous |
|
verbal explanation of the heart auscultation; |
|
(5) before receiving a sonogram under Subdivision |
|
(4)(A) and before the abortion is performed or induced and before |
|
any sedative or anesthesia is administered, the pregnant woman |
|
completes and certifies with her signature an election form that |
|
states as follows: |
|
"ABORTION AND SONOGRAM ELECTION |
|
(1) THE INFORMATION AND PRINTED MATERIALS |
|
DESCRIBED BY SECTIONS 171.012(a)(1)-(3), TEXAS HEALTH |
|
AND SAFETY CODE, HAVE BEEN PROVIDED AND EXPLAINED TO |
|
ME. |
|
(2) I UNDERSTAND THE NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES OF |
|
AN ABORTION. |
|
(3) TEXAS LAW REQUIRES THAT I RECEIVE A SONOGRAM |
|
PRIOR TO RECEIVING AN ABORTION. |
|
(4) I UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE THE OPTION TO VIEW |
|
THE SONOGRAM IMAGES. |
|
(5) I UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE THE OPTION TO HEAR |
|
THE HEARTBEAT. |
|
(6) I UNDERSTAND THAT I AM REQUIRED BY LAW TO |
|
HEAR AN EXPLANATION OF THE SONOGRAM IMAGES UNLESS I |
|
CERTIFY IN WRITING TO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: |
|
___ I AM PREGNANT AS A RESULT OF A SEXUAL |
|
ASSAULT, INCEST, OR OTHER VIOLATION OF THE TEXAS PENAL |
|
CODE THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT |
|
AUTHORITIES OR THAT HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED BECAUSE I |
|
REASONABLY BELIEVE THAT DOING SO WOULD PUT ME AT RISK |
|
OF RETALIATION RESULTING IN SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. |
|
___ I AM A MINOR AND OBTAINING AN ABORTION IN |
|
ACCORDANCE WITH JUDICIAL BYPASS PROCEDURES UNDER |
|
CHAPTER 33, TEXAS FAMILY CODE. |
|
___ MY PREBORN CHILD [FETUS] HAS AN IRREVERSIBLE |
|
MEDICAL CONDITION OR ABNORMALITY, AS IDENTIFIED BY |
|
RELIABLE DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTED IN MY |
|
MEDICAL FILE. |
|
(7) I AM MAKING THIS ELECTION OF MY OWN FREE WILL |
|
AND WITHOUT COERCION. |
|
(8) FOR A WOMAN WHO LIVES 100 MILES OR MORE FROM |
|
THE NEAREST ABORTION PROVIDER THAT IS A FACILITY |
|
LICENSED UNDER CHAPTER 245, TEXAS HEALTH AND SAFETY |
|
CODE, OR A FACILITY THAT PERFORMS OR INDUCES MORE THAN |
|
50 ABORTIONS IN ANY 12-MONTH PERIOD ONLY: |
|
I CERTIFY THAT, BECAUSE I CURRENTLY LIVE 100 |
|
MILES OR MORE FROM THE NEAREST ABORTION PROVIDER THAT |
|
IS A FACILITY LICENSED UNDER CHAPTER 245, TEXAS HEALTH |
|
AND SAFETY CODE, OR A FACILITY THAT PERFORMS OR INDUCES |
|
MORE THAN 50 ABORTIONS IN ANY 12-MONTH PERIOD, I WAIVE |
|
THE REQUIREMENT TO WAIT 24 HOURS AFTER THE SONOGRAM IS |
|
PERFORMED BEFORE RECEIVING THE ABORTION PROCEDURE. MY |
|
PLACE OF RESIDENCE IS:__________. |
|
________________________________________ |
|
SIGNATURE DATE"; |
|
(6) before the abortion is performed or induced, the |
|
physician who is to perform or induce the abortion receives a copy |
|
of the signed, written certification required by Subdivision (5); |
|
and |
|
(7) the pregnant woman is provided the name of each |
|
person who provides or explains the information required under this |
|
subsection. |
|
(g) If the pregnant woman's preborn child has been diagnosed |
|
with a life-threatening disability, the physician who is to perform |
|
the abortion shall, at least 24 hours before the abortion or at |
|
least two hours before the abortion if the pregnant woman waives |
|
this requirement by certifying that she currently lives 100 miles |
|
or more from the nearest abortion provider that is a facility |
|
licensed under Chapter 245 or a facility in which more than 50 |
|
abortions are performed in any 12-month period: |
|
(1) orally and in person, inform the pregnant woman of |
|
the availability of perinatal palliative care, as that term is |
|
defined by Section 161.702; and |
|
(2) 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 161.703; and |
|
(B) the perinatal palliative care certification |
|
form described by Section 161.704. |
|
(h) If a pregnant woman described by Subsection (g), after |
|
receiving from the physician who is to perform or induce the |
|
abortion the perinatal palliative care informational materials and |
|
certification form described by that subsection in the manner |
|
required by that subsection, chooses to have an abortion instead of |
|
continuing the pregnancy in perinatal palliative care, the |
|
physician may perform or induce the abortion only after: |
|
(1) the pregnant woman signs the certification form; |
|
and |
|
(2) the physician places the signed certification form |
|
in the pregnant woman's medical records. |
|
SECTION 2.09. Section 171.0121, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 171.0121. MEDICAL RECORD. (a) Before the abortion |
|
begins, a copy of the signed, written certification received by the |
|
physician under Section 171.012(a)(6) and, if applicable, under |
|
Section 161.704 must be placed in the pregnant woman's medical |
|
records. |
|
(b) A copy of the signed, written certification required |
|
under Sections 171.012(a)(5) and (6) and of any signed, written |
|
certification required under Section 161.704 shall be retained by |
|
the facility where the abortion is performed or induced until: |
|
(1) the seventh anniversary of the date the |
|
certification [it] is signed; or |
|
(2) if the pregnant woman is a minor, the later of: |
|
(A) the seventh anniversary of the date the |
|
certification [it] is signed; or |
|
(B) the woman's 21st birthday. |
|
SECTION 2.10. Section 171.014(a), Health and Safety Code, |
|
is amended to read as follows: |
|
(a) The department shall publish informational materials |
|
that include: |
|
(1) the information required to be provided under |
|
Sections 171.012(a)(1)(B), [and] (D), and (E) and (a)(2)(A), (B), |
|
and (C); and |
|
(2) the materials required by Sections 161.703, |
|
171.015, and 171.016. |
|
SECTION 2.11. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 171, |
|
Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows: |
|
SUBCHAPTER C. ABORTION PROHIBITED AT OR AFTER 20 WEEKS PROBABLE |
|
GESTATIONAL AGE [POST-FERTILIZATION] |
|
SECTION 2.12. Section 171.042, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows: |
|
(1-a) "Probable gestational age" means the duration of |
|
a pregnancy measured by the number of weeks and days that have |
|
elapsed from the first day of the pregnant woman's last menstrual |
|
period out of an expected 40-week gestation. |
|
SECTION 2.13. Sections 171.043, 171.044, and 171.045, |
|
Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 171.043. DETERMINATION OF PROBABLE GESTATIONAL |
|
[POST-FERTILIZATION] AGE REQUIRED. Except as otherwise provided by |
|
Section 171.046, a physician may not perform or induce or attempt to |
|
perform or induce an abortion without, prior to the procedure: |
|
(1) making a determination of the probable gestational |
|
[post-fertilization] age of the preborn [unborn] child; or |
|
(2) possessing and relying on a determination of the |
|
probable gestational [post-fertilization] age of the preborn |
|
[unborn] child made by another physician. |
|
Sec. 171.044. ABORTION OF PREBORN [UNBORN] CHILD OF 20 OR |
|
MORE WEEKS PROBABLE GESTATIONAL [POST-FERTILIZATION] AGE |
|
PROHIBITED. Except as otherwise provided by Section 171.046, a |
|
person may not perform or induce or attempt to perform or induce an |
|
abortion on a woman if it has been determined, by the physician |
|
performing, inducing, or attempting to perform or induce the |
|
abortion or by another physician on whose determination that |
|
physician relies, that the probable gestational |
|
[post-fertilization] age of the preborn [unborn] child is 20 or |
|
more weeks. |
|
Sec. 171.045. METHOD OF ABORTION. (a) This section applies |
|
only to an abortion authorized under Section 171.046(a)(1) or (2) |
|
in which: |
|
(1) the probable gestational [post-fertilization] age |
|
of the preborn [unborn] child is 20 or more weeks; or |
|
(2) the probable gestational [post-fertilization] age |
|
of the preborn [unborn] child has not been determined but could |
|
reasonably be 20 or more weeks. |
|
(b) Except as otherwise provided by Section 171.046(a)(3), |
|
a physician performing or inducing an abortion under Subsection (a) |
|
shall terminate the pregnancy in the manner that, in the |
|
physician's reasonable medical judgment, provides the best |
|
opportunity for the preborn [unborn] child to survive. |
|
SECTION 2.14. Section 171.046(a), Health and Safety Code, |
|
is amended to read as follows: |
|
(a) The prohibitions and requirements under Sections |
|
171.043, 171.044, and 171.045(b) do not apply to an abortion |
|
performed or induced if there exists a condition that, in the |
|
physician's reasonable medical judgment, so complicates the |
|
medical condition of the woman that, to avert the woman's death or a |
|
serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of |
|
a major bodily function, other than a psychological condition, it |
|
necessitates, as applicable: |
|
(1) the immediate abortion of her pregnancy without |
|
the delay necessary to determine the probable gestational |
|
[post-fertilization] age of the preborn [unborn] child; |
|
(2) the abortion of her pregnancy even though the |
|
probable gestational [post-fertilization] age of the preborn |
|
[unborn] child is 20 or more weeks; or |
|
(3) the use of a method of abortion other than a method |
|
described by Section 171.045(b). |
|
SECTION 2.15. Section 285.202(a), Health and Safety Code, |
|
is amended to read as follows: |
|
(a) In this section, "medical emergency" means[: |
|
[(1)] a condition exists that, in a physician's good |
|
faith clinical judgment, complicates the medical condition of the |
|
pregnant woman and necessitates the immediate abortion of her |
|
pregnancy to avert her death or to avoid a serious risk of |
|
substantial impairment of a major bodily function[; or |
|
[(2) the fetus has a severe fetal abnormality]. |
|
SECTION 2.16. Section 164.052(a), Occupations Code, is |
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
(a) A physician or an applicant for a license to practice |
|
medicine commits a prohibited practice if that person: |
|
(1) submits to the board a false or misleading |
|
statement, document, or certificate in an application for a |
|
license; |
|
(2) presents to the board a license, certificate, or |
|
diploma that was illegally or fraudulently obtained; |
|
(3) commits fraud or deception in taking or passing an |
|
examination; |
|
(4) uses alcohol or drugs in an intemperate manner |
|
that, in the board's opinion, could endanger a patient's life; |
|
(5) commits unprofessional or dishonorable conduct |
|
that is likely to deceive or defraud the public, as provided by |
|
Section 164.053, or injure the public; |
|
(6) uses an advertising statement that is false, |
|
misleading, or deceptive; |
|
(7) advertises professional superiority or the |
|
performance of professional service in a superior manner if that |
|
advertising is not readily subject to verification; |
|
(8) purchases, sells, barters, or uses, or offers to |
|
purchase, sell, barter, or use, a medical degree, license, |
|
certificate, or diploma, or a transcript of a license, certificate, |
|
or diploma in or incident to an application to the board for a |
|
license to practice medicine; |
|
(9) alters, with fraudulent intent, a medical license, |
|
certificate, or diploma, or a transcript of a medical license, |
|
certificate, or diploma; |
|
(10) uses a medical license, certificate, or diploma, |
|
or a transcript of a medical license, certificate, or diploma that |
|
has been: |
|
(A) fraudulently purchased or issued; |
|
(B) counterfeited; or |
|
(C) materially altered; |
|
(11) impersonates or acts as proxy for another person |
|
in an examination required by this subtitle for a medical license; |
|
(12) engages in conduct that subverts or attempts to |
|
subvert an examination process required by this subtitle for a |
|
medical license; |
|
(13) impersonates a physician or permits another to |
|
use the person's license or certificate to practice medicine in |
|
this state; |
|
(14) directly or indirectly employs a person whose |
|
license to practice medicine has been suspended, canceled, or |
|
revoked; |
|
(15) associates in the practice of medicine with a |
|
person: |
|
(A) whose license to practice medicine has been |
|
suspended, canceled, or revoked; or |
|
(B) who has been convicted of the unlawful |
|
practice of medicine in this state or elsewhere; |
|
(16) performs or procures a criminal abortion, aids or |
|
abets in the procuring of a criminal abortion, attempts to perform |
|
or procure a criminal abortion, or attempts to aid or abet the |
|
performance or procurement of a criminal abortion; |
|
(17) directly or indirectly aids or abets the practice |
|
of medicine by a person, partnership, association, or corporation |
|
that is not licensed to practice medicine by the board; |
|
(18) performs or induces or attempts to perform or |
|
induce an abortion on a woman who is pregnant with a preborn [viable |
|
unborn] child during the third trimester of the pregnancy unless[: |
|
[(A)] the abortion is necessary due to a medical |
|
emergency, as defined by Section 171.002, Health and Safety Code |
|
[to prevent the death of the woman; |
|
[(B) the viable unborn child has a severe, |
|
irreversible brain impairment; or |
|
[(C) the woman is diagnosed with a significant |
|
likelihood of suffering imminent severe, irreversible brain damage |
|
or imminent severe, irreversible paralysis]; |
|
(19) performs or induces or attempts to perform or |
|
induce an abortion on an unemancipated minor without the written |
|
consent of the child's parent, managing conservator, or legal |
|
guardian or without a court order, as provided by Section 33.003 or |
|
33.004, Family Code, unless the abortion is necessary due to a |
|
medical emergency, as defined by Section 171.002, Health and Safety |
|
Code; |
|
(20) otherwise performs or induces or attempts to |
|
perform or induce an abortion on an unemancipated minor in |
|
violation of Chapter 33, Family Code; |
|
(21) performs or induces or attempts to perform or |
|
induce an abortion in violation of Subchapter C, F, or G, Chapter |
|
171, Health and Safety Code; [or] |
|
(22) in complying with the procedures outlined in |
|
Sections 166.045 and 166.046, Health and Safety Code, wilfully |
|
fails to make a reasonable effort to transfer a patient to a |
|
physician who is willing to comply with a directive; or |
|
(23) performs or induces or attempts to perform or |
|
induce an abortion or engages in other conduct in violation of |
|
Section 170.052, Health and Safety Code. |
|
SECTION 2.17. Section 164.055(b), Occupations Code, is |
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
(b) The sanctions provided by Subsection (a) are in addition |
|
to any other grounds for refusal to admit persons to examination |
|
under this subtitle or to issue a license or renew a license to |
|
practice medicine under this subtitle. The criminal penalties |
|
provided by Section 165.152 do not apply to a violation of Section |
|
170.002 or 170.052, Health and Safety Code, or Subchapter C, F, or |
|
G, Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code. |
|
SECTION 2.18. The following provisions of the Health and |
|
Safety Code are repealed: |
|
(1) Section 170.001(3); |
|
(2) Sections 171.042(1) and (2); |
|
(3) Section 171.046(c); and |
|
(4) Sections 285.202(a-1) and (a-2). |
|
ARTICLE 3. ABORTION PROHIBITED AFTER DETECTION OF FETAL HEARTBEAT |
|
SECTION 3.01. Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by adding Subchapter H to read as follows: |
|
SUBCHAPTER H. DETECTION OF FETAL HEARTBEAT |
|
Sec. 171.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
|
(1) "Fetal heartbeat" means cardiac activity or the |
|
steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart |
|
within the gestational sac. |
|
(2) "Gestational age" means the amount of time that |
|
has elapsed from the first day of a woman's last menstrual period. |
|
(3) "Gestational sac" means the structure comprising |
|
the extraembryonic membranes that envelop the unborn child and that |
|
is typically visible by ultrasound after the fourth week of |
|
pregnancy. |
|
(4) "Physician" means an individual licensed to |
|
practice medicine in this state, including a medical doctor and a |
|
doctor of osteopathic medicine. |
|
(5) "Pregnancy" means the human female reproductive |
|
condition that: |
|
(A) begins with fertilization; |
|
(B) occurs when the woman is carrying the |
|
developing human offspring; and |
|
(C) is calculated from the first day of the |
|
woman's last menstrual period. |
|
(6) "Standard medical practice" means the degree of |
|
skill, care, and diligence that an obstetrician of ordinary |
|
judgment, learning, and skill would employ in like circumstances. |
|
(7) "Unborn child" means a human fetus or embryo in any |
|
stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. |
|
Sec. 171.202. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds, |
|
according to contemporary medical research, that: |
|
(1) fetal heartbeat has become a key medical predictor |
|
that an unborn child will reach live birth; |
|
(2) cardiac activity begins at a biologically |
|
identifiable moment in time, normally when the fetal heart is |
|
formed in the gestational sac; |
|
(3) Texas has compelling interests from the outset of |
|
a woman's pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the |
|
life of the unborn child; and |
|
(4) to make an informed choice about whether to |
|
continue her pregnancy, the pregnant woman has a compelling |
|
interest in knowing the likelihood of her unborn child surviving to |
|
full-term birth based on the presence of cardiac activity. |
|
Sec. 171.203. DETERMINATION OF PRESENCE OF FETAL HEARTBEAT |
|
REQUIRED; RECORD. (a) For the purposes of determining the presence |
|
of a fetal heartbeat under this section, "standard medical |
|
practice" includes employing the appropriate means of detecting the |
|
heartbeat based on the estimated gestational age of the unborn |
|
child and the condition of the woman and her pregnancy. |
|
(b) Except as provided by Section 171.205, a physician may |
|
not knowingly perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman |
|
unless the physician has determined, in accordance with this |
|
section, whether the woman's unborn child has a detectable fetal |
|
heartbeat. |
|
(c) In making a determination under Subsection (b), the |
|
physician must use a test that is: |
|
(1) consistent with the physician's good faith and |
|
reasonable understanding of standard medical practice; and |
|
(2) appropriate for the estimated gestational age of |
|
the unborn child and the condition of the pregnant woman and her |
|
pregnancy. |
|
(d) A physician making a determination under Subsection (b) |
|
shall record in the pregnant woman's medical record: |
|
(1) the estimated gestational age of the unborn child; |
|
(2) the method used to estimate the gestational age; |
|
and |
|
(3) the test used for detecting a fetal heartbeat, |
|
including the date, time, and results of the test. |
|
Sec. 171.204. PROHIBITED ABORTION OF UNBORN CHILD WITH |
|
DETECTABLE FETAL HEARTBEAT; EFFECT. (a) Except as provided by |
|
Section 171.205, a physician may not knowingly perform or induce an |
|
abortion on a pregnant woman if the physician detected a fetal |
|
heartbeat for the unborn child as required by Section 171.203 or |
|
failed to perform a test to detect a fetal heartbeat. |
|
(b) A physician does not violate this section if the |
|
physician performed a test for a fetal heartbeat as required by |
|
Section 171.203 and did not detect a fetal heartbeat. |
|
(c) This section does not affect: |
|
(1) the provisions of this chapter that restrict or |
|
regulate an abortion by a particular method or during a particular |
|
stage of pregnancy; or |
|
(2) any other provision of state law that regulates or |
|
prohibits abortion. |
|
Sec. 171.205. EXCEPTION FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCY; RECORDS. |
|
(a) Sections 171.203 and 171.204 do not apply if a physician |
|
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 a medical emergency |
|
necessitated the abortion; and |
|
(2) the medical condition of the pregnant woman that |
|
prevented compliance with this subchapter. |
|
(c) A physician performing or inducing an abortion under |
|
this section shall maintain in the physician's practice records a |
|
copy of the notations made under Subsection (b). |
|
Sec. 171.206. CONSTRUCTION OF SUBCHAPTER. (a) This |
|
subchapter does not create or recognize a right to abortion before a |
|
fetal heartbeat is detected. |
|
(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. |
|
Sec. 171.207. LIMITATIONS ON PUBLIC ENFORCEMENT. (a) |
|
Notwithstanding Section 171.005 or any other law, the requirements |
|
of this subchapter shall be enforced exclusively through the |
|
private civil actions described in Section 171.208. No enforcement |
|
of this subchapter, and no enforcement of Chapters 19 and 22, Penal |
|
Code, in response to violations of this subchapter, may be taken or |
|
threatened by this state, a political subdivision, a district or |
|
county attorney, or an executive or administrative officer or |
|
employee of this state or a political subdivision against any |
|
person, except as provided in Section 171.208. |
|
(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. |
|
Sec. 171.208. CIVIL LIABILITY FOR VIOLATION OR AIDING OR |
|
ABETTING VIOLATION. (a) Any person, other than an officer or |
|
employee of a state or local governmental entity in this state, may |
|
bring a civil action against any person who: |
|
(1) performs or induces an abortion in violation of |
|
this chapter; |
|
(2) knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets |
|
the performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for |
|
or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or |
|
otherwise, if the abortion is performed or induced in violation of |
|
this chapter, regardless of whether the person knew or should have |
|
known that the abortion would be performed or induced in violation |
|
of this chapter; or |
|
(3) intends to engage in the conduct described by |
|
Subdivision (1) or (2). |
|
(b) If a claimant prevails in an action brought under this |
|
section, the court shall award: |
|
(1) injunctive relief sufficient to prevent the |
|
defendant from violating this chapter or engaging in acts that aid |
|
or abet violations of this chapter; |
|
(2) statutory damages in an amount of not less than |
|
$10,000 for each abortion that the defendant performed or induced |
|
in violation of this chapter, and for each abortion performed or |
|
induced in violation of this chapter that the defendant aided or |
|
abetted; and |
|
(3) costs and attorney's fees. |
|
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a court may not award |
|
relief under this section in response to a violation of Subsection |
|
(a)(1) or (2) if the defendant demonstrates that the defendant |
|
previously paid the full amount of statutory damages under |
|
Subsections (b)(2) and (3) in a previous action for that particular |
|
abortion performed or induced in violation of this chapter, or for |
|
the particular conduct that aided or abetted an abortion performed |
|
or induced in violation of this chapter. |
|
(d) Notwithstanding Chapter 16, Civil Practice and Remedies |
|
Code, or any other law, a person may bring an action under this |
|
section not later than the sixth anniversary of the date the cause |
|
of action accrues. |
|
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the following are not a |
|
defense to an action brought under this section: |
|
(1) ignorance or mistake of law; |
|
(2) a defendant's belief that the requirements of this |
|
chapter are unconstitutional or were unconstitutional; |
|
(3) a defendant's reliance on any court decision that |
|
has been overruled on appeal or by a subsequent court, even if that |
|
court decision had not been overruled when the defendant engaged in |
|
conduct that violates this chapter; |
|
(4) a defendant's reliance on any state or federal |
|
court decision that is not binding on the court in which the action |
|
has been brought; |
|
(5) non-mutual issue preclusion or non-mutual claim |
|
preclusion; |
|
(6) the consent of the unborn child's mother to the |
|
abortion; or |
|
(7) any claim that the enforcement of this chapter or |
|
the imposition of civil liability against the defendant will |
|
violate the constitutional rights of third parties, except as |
|
provided by Section 171.209. |
|
(f) It is an affirmative defense if: |
|
(1) a person sued under Subsection (a)(2) reasonably |
|
believed, after conducting a reasonable investigation, that the |
|
physician performing or inducing the abortion had complied or would |
|
comply with this chapter; or |
|
(2) a person sued under Subsection (a)(3) reasonably |
|
believed, after conducting a reasonable investigation, that the |
|
physician performing or inducing the abortion will comply with this |
|
chapter. |
|
(f-1) The defendant has the burden of proving an affirmative |
|
defense under Subsection (f)(1) or (2) by a preponderance of the |
|
evidence. |
|
(g) This section may not be construed to impose liability on |
|
any speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment of the United |
|
States Constitution, as made applicable to the states through the |
|
United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourteenth |
|
Amendment of the United States Constitution, or by Section 8, |
|
Article I, Texas Constitution. |
|
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, this state, a state |
|
official, or a district or county attorney may not intervene in an |
|
action brought under this section. This subsection does not |
|
prohibit a person described by this subsection from filing an |
|
amicus curiae brief in the action. |
|
(i) Notwithstanding any other law, a court may not award |
|
costs or attorney's fees under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure or |
|
any other rule adopted by the supreme court under Section 22.004, |
|
Government Code, to a defendant in an action brought under this |
|
section. |
|
Sec. 171.209. CIVIL LIABILITY: UNDUE BURDEN DEFENSE |
|
LIMITATIONS. (a) A defendant against whom an action is brought |
|
under Section 171.208 does not have standing to assert the rights |
|
of women seeking an abortion as a defense to liability under that |
|
section unless: |
|
(1) the United States Supreme Court holds that the |
|
courts of this state must confer standing on that defendant to |
|
assert the third-party rights of women seeking an abortion in state |
|
court as a matter of federal constitutional law; or |
|
(2) the defendant has standing to assert the rights of |
|
women seeking an abortion under the tests for third-party standing |
|
established by the United States Supreme Court. |
|
(b) A defendant in an action brought under Section 171.208 |
|
may assert an affirmative defense to liability under this section |
|
if: |
|
(1) the defendant has standing to assert the |
|
third-party rights of a woman or a group of women seeking an |
|
abortion in accordance with Subsection (a); and |
|
(2) the defendant demonstrates that the relief sought |
|
by the claimant will impose an undue burden on that woman or a group |
|
of women seeking an abortion. |
|
(c) A court may not find an undue burden under Subsection |
|
(b) unless the defendant introduces evidence proving that: |
|
(1) an award of relief will prevent a woman or a group |
|
of women from obtaining an abortion; or |
|
(2) an award of relief will place a substantial |
|
obstacle in the path of a woman or a group of women who are seeking |
|
an abortion. |
|
(d) A defendant may not establish an undue burden under this |
|
section by: |
|
(1) merely demonstrating that an award of relief will |
|
prevent women from obtaining support or assistance, financial or |
|
otherwise, from others in their effort to obtain an abortion; or |
|
(2) arguing or attempting to demonstrate that an award |
|
of relief against other defendants or other potential defendants |
|
will impose an undue burden on women seeking an abortion. |
|
(e) The affirmative defense under Subsection (b) is not |
|
available if the United States Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade, |
|
410 U.S. 113 (1973) or Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 |
|
(1992), regardless of whether the conduct on which the cause of |
|
action is based under Section 171.208 occurred before the Supreme |
|
Court overruled either of those decisions. |
|
(f) Nothing in this section shall in any way limit or |
|
preclude a defendant from asserting the defendant's personal |
|
constitutional rights as a defense to liability under Section |
|
171.208, and a court may not award relief under Section 171.208 if |
|
the conduct for which the defendant has been sued was an exercise of |
|
state or federal constitutional rights that personally belong to |
|
the defendant. |
|
Sec. 171.210. CIVIL LIABILITY: VENUE. (a) Notwithstanding |
|
any other law, including Section 15.002, Civil Practice and |
|
Remedies Code, a civil action brought under Section 171.208 shall |
|
be brought in: |
|
(1) the county in which all or a substantial part of |
|
the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; |
|
(2) the county of residence for any one of the natural |
|
person defendants at the time the cause of action accrued; |
|
(3) the county of the principal office in this state of |
|
any one of the defendants that is not a natural person; or |
|
(4) the county of residence for the claimant if the |
|
claimant is a natural person residing in this state. |
|
(b) If a civil action is brought under Section 171.208 in |
|
any one of the venues described by Subsection (a), the action may |
|
not be transferred to a different venue without the written consent |
|
of all parties. |
|
Sec. 171.211. SOVEREIGN, GOVERNMENTAL, AND OFFICIAL |
|
IMMUNITY PRESERVED. (a) This section prevails over any |
|
conflicting law, including: |
|
(1) the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act; and |
|
(2) Chapter 37, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. |
|
(b) This state has sovereign immunity, a political |
|
subdivision has governmental immunity, and each officer and |
|
employee of this state or a political subdivision has official |
|
immunity in any action, claim, or counterclaim or any type of legal |
|
or equitable action that challenges the validity of any provision |
|
or application of this chapter, on constitutional grounds or |
|
otherwise. |
|
(c) A provision of state law may not be construed to waive or |
|
abrogate an immunity described by Subsection (b) unless it |
|
expressly waives immunity under this section. |
|
Sec. 171.212. SEVERABILITY. (a) Mindful of Leavitt v. Jane |
|
L. |
|
severability of a state statute regulating abortion the United |
|
States Supreme Court held that an explicit statement of legislative |
|
intent is controlling, it is the intent of the legislature that |
|
every provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or |
|
word in this chapter, and every application of the provisions in |
|
this chapter, are severable from each other. |
|
(b) If any application of any provision in this chapter to |
|
any person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court |
|
to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining applications of |
|
that provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be |
|
severed and may not be affected. All constitutionally valid |
|
applications of this chapter shall be severed from any applications |
|
that a court finds to be invalid, leaving the valid applications in |
|
force, because it is the legislature's intent and priority that the |
|
valid applications be allowed to stand alone. Even if a reviewing |
|
court finds a provision of this chapter to impose an undue burden in |
|
a large or substantial fraction of relevant cases, the applications |
|
that do not present an undue burden shall be severed from the |
|
remaining applications and shall remain in force, and shall be |
|
treated as if the legislature had enacted a statute limited to the |
|
persons, group of persons, or circumstances for which the statute's |
|
application does not present an undue burden. |
|
(b-1) If any court declares or finds a provision of this |
|
chapter facially unconstitutional, when discrete applications of |
|
that provision can be enforced against a person, group of persons, |
|
or circumstances without violating the United States Constitution |
|
and Texas Constitution, those applications shall be severed from |
|
all remaining applications of the provision, and the provision |
|
shall be interpreted as if the legislature had enacted a provision |
|
limited to the persons, group of persons, or circumstances for |
|
which the provision's application will not violate the United |
|
States Constitution and Texas Constitution. |
|
(c) The legislature further declares that it would have |
|
enacted this chapter, and each provision, section, subsection, |
|
sentence, clause, phrase, or word, and all constitutional |
|
applications of this chapter, irrespective of the fact that any |
|
provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word, |
|
or applications of this chapter, were to be declared |
|
unconstitutional or to represent an undue burden. |
|
(d) If any provision of this chapter is found by any court to |
|
be unconstitutionally vague, then the applications of that |
|
provision that do not present constitutional vagueness problems |
|
shall be severed and remain in force. |
|
(e) No court may decline to enforce the severability |
|
requirements of Subsections (a), (b), (b-1), (c), and (d) on the |
|
ground that severance would rewrite the statute or involve the |
|
court in legislative or lawmaking activity. A court that declines |
|
to enforce or enjoins a state official from enforcing a statutory |
|
provision does not rewrite a statute, as the statute continues to |
|
contain the same words as before the court's decision. A judicial |
|
injunction or declaration of unconstitutionality: |
|
(1) is nothing more than an edict prohibiting |
|
enforcement that may subsequently be vacated by a later court if |
|
that court has a different understanding of the requirements of the |
|
Texas Constitution or United States Constitution; |
|
(2) is not a formal amendment of the language in a |
|
statute; and |
|
(3) no more rewrites a statute than a decision by the |
|
executive not to enforce a duly enacted statute in a limited and |
|
defined set of circumstances. |
|
SECTION 3.02. Chapter 30, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, |
|
is amended by adding Section 30.022 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 30.022. AWARD OF ATTORNEY'S FEES IN ACTIONS |
|
CHALLENGING ABORTION LAWS. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, any |
|
person, including an entity, attorney, or law firm, who seeks |
|
declaratory or injunctive relief to prevent this state, a political |
|
subdivision, or any governmental entity or public official in this |
|
state from enforcing any statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, or |
|
any other type of law that regulates or restricts abortion or that |
|
limits taxpayer funding for individuals or entities that perform or |
|
promote abortions, in any state or federal court, or that |
|
represents any litigant seeking such relief in any state or federal |
|
court, is jointly and severally liable to pay the costs and |
|
attorney's fees of the prevailing party. |
|
(b) For purposes of this section, a party is considered a |
|
prevailing party if a state or federal court: |
|
(1) dismisses any claim or cause of action brought |
|
against the party that seeks the declaratory or injunctive relief |
|
described by Subsection (a), regardless of the reason for the |
|
dismissal; or |
|
(2) enters judgment in the party's favor on any such |
|
claim or cause of action. |
|
(c) Regardless of whether a prevailing party sought to |
|
recover costs or attorney's fees in the underlying action, a |
|
prevailing party under this section may bring a civil action to |
|
recover costs and attorney's fees against a person, including an |
|
entity, attorney, or law firm, that sought declaratory or |
|
injunctive relief described by Subsection (a) not later than the |
|
third anniversary of the date on which, as applicable: |
|
(1) the dismissal or judgment described by Subsection |
|
(b) becomes final on the conclusion of appellate review; or |
|
(2) the time for seeking appellate review expires. |
|
(d) It is not a defense to an action brought under |
|
Subsection (c) that: |
|
(1) a prevailing party under this section failed to |
|
seek recovery of costs or attorney's fees in the underlying action; |
|
(2) the court in the underlying action declined to |
|
recognize or enforce the requirements of this section; or |
|
(3) the court in the underlying action held that any |
|
provisions of this section are invalid, unconstitutional, or |
|
preempted by federal law, notwithstanding the doctrines of issue or |
|
claim preclusion. |
|
SECTION 3.03. Subchapter C, Chapter 311, Government Code, |
|
is amended by adding Section 311.036 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 311.036. CONSTRUCTION OF ABORTION STATUTES. (a) A |
|
statute that regulates or prohibits abortion may not be construed |
|
to repeal any other statute that regulates or prohibits abortion, |
|
either wholly or partly, unless the repealing statute explicitly |
|
states that it is repealing the other statute. |
|
(b) A statute may not be construed to restrict a political |
|
subdivision from regulating or prohibiting abortion in a manner |
|
that is at least as stringent as the laws of this state unless the |
|
statute explicitly states that political subdivisions are |
|
prohibited from regulating or prohibiting abortion in the manner |
|
described by the statute. |
|
(c) Every statute that regulates or prohibits abortion is |
|
severable in each of its applications to every person and |
|
circumstance. If any statute that regulates or prohibits abortion |
|
is found by any court to be unconstitutional, either on its face or |
|
as applied, then all applications of that statute that do not |
|
violate the United States Constitution and Texas Constitution shall |
|
be severed from the unconstitutional applications and shall remain |
|
enforceable, notwithstanding any other law, and the statute shall |
|
be interpreted as if containing language limiting the statute's |
|
application to the persons, group of persons, or circumstances for |
|
which the statute's application will not violate the United States |
|
Constitution and Texas Constitution. |
|
SECTION 3.04. Section 171.005, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 171.005. COMMISSION [DEPARTMENT] TO ENFORCE; |
|
EXCEPTION. The commission [department] shall enforce this chapter |
|
except for Subchapter H, which shall be enforced exclusively |
|
through the private civil enforcement actions described by Section |
|
171.208 and may not be enforced by the commission. |
|
SECTION 3.05. Section 245.011(c), Health and Safety Code, |
|
is amended to read as follows: |
|
(c) The report must include: |
|
(1) whether the abortion facility at which the |
|
abortion is performed is licensed under this chapter; |
|
(2) the patient's year of birth, race, marital status, |
|
and state and county of residence; |
|
(3) the type of abortion procedure; |
|
(4) the date the abortion was performed; |
|
(5) whether the patient survived the abortion, and if |
|
the patient did not survive, the cause of death; |
|
(6) the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn |
|
child based on the best medical judgment of the attending physician |
|
at the time of the procedure; |
|
(7) the date, if known, of the patient's last menstrual |
|
cycle; |
|
(8) the number of previous live births of the patient; |
|
[and] |
|
(9) the number of previous induced abortions of the |
|
patient; |
|
(10) whether the abortion was performed or induced |
|
because of a medical emergency and any medical condition of the |
|
pregnant woman that required the abortion; and |
|
(11) the information required under Sections |
|
171.008(a) and (c). |
|
ARTICLE 4. PROHIBITION OF ABORTION |
|
SECTION 4.01. Chapter 170, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
amended by adding Subchapter C to read as follows: |
|
SUBCHAPTER C. PROHIBITION OF ABORTION |
|
Sec. 170.101. ABORTION PROHIBITED. Notwithstanding any |
|
other law, a person may not perform, induce, or attempt to perform |
|
or induce an abortion unless the abortion is performed, induced, or |
|
attempted to be performed or induced by a physician because of a |
|
medical emergency as defined by Section 171.002. |
|
Sec. 170.102. CIVIL REMEDY. (a) A civil action may be |
|
brought against a person who violated Section 170.101 by: |
|
(1) the woman on whom an abortion was performed, |
|
induced, or attempted in violation of Section 170.101; |
|
(2) the father of the preborn child for an abortion |
|
performed, induced, or attempted on a pregnant woman in violation |
|
of Section 170.101, unless the woman's pregnancy resulted from the |
|
father's criminal conduct; or |
|
(3) a maternal grandparent of the preborn child for an |
|
abortion performed, induced, or attempted in violation of Section |
|
170.101 on a pregnant woman who was less than 18 years of age at the |
|
time of the violation, unless the woman's pregnancy resulted from |
|
the maternal grandparent's criminal conduct. |
|
(b) A person who brings an action under this section may |
|
obtain: |
|
(1) injunctive relief; |
|
(2) damages incurred by the person, including: |
|
(A) actual damages for all psychological, |
|
emotional, and physical injuries resulting from the violation of |
|
Section 170.101; |
|
(B) court costs; and |
|
(C) reasonable attorney's fees; or |
|
(3) both injunctive relief and damages. |
|
(c) An action for damages or injunctive relief under this |
|
section must be filed: |
|
(1) in a district court in the county in which the |
|
woman on whom an abortion was performed, induced, or attempted in |
|
violation of Section 170.101 resides; and |
|
(2) not later than the sixth anniversary of the date |
|
the abortion was performed, induced, or attempted in violation of |
|
Section 170.101. |
|
(d) The damages and injunctive relief authorized by this |
|
section are in addition to any other remedy available by law. |
|
(e) A civil action under this section may not be brought |
|
against a woman on whom an abortion is performed, induced, or |
|
attempted in violation of Section 170.101. |
|
Sec. 170.103. REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE. A |
|
physician who violates Section 170.101 engages in unprofessional |
|
conduct for which the physician's license may be suspended or |
|
revoked under Chapter 164, Occupations Code. |
|
SECTION 4.02. Section 19.06, Penal Code, is amended to read |
|
as follows: |
|
Sec. 19.06. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN CONDUCT. |
|
Notwithstanding any other law, this [This] chapter applies [does |
|
not apply] to the death of a preborn [an unborn] child unless [if] |
|
the conduct charged is: |
|
(1) conduct committed by the mother of the preborn |
|
[unborn] child; or |
|
(2) an abortion performed, induced, or attempted to be |
|
performed or induced by a physician because of a medical emergency |
|
as defined by Section 171.002, Health and Safety Code [a lawful |
|
medical procedure performed by a physician or other licensed health |
|
care provider with the requisite consent, if the death of the unborn |
|
child was the intended result of the procedure; |
|
[(3) a lawful medical procedure performed by a |
|
physician or other licensed health care provider with the requisite |
|
consent as part of an assisted reproduction as defined by Section |
|
160.102, Family Code; or |
|
[(4) the dispensation of a drug in accordance with law |
|
or administration of a drug prescribed in accordance with law]. |
|
SECTION 4.03. Section 22.12, Penal Code, is amended to read |
|
as follows: |
|
Sec. 22.12. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN CONDUCT. |
|
Notwithstanding any other law, this [This] chapter applies [does |
|
not apply] to conduct charged as having been committed against an |
|
individual who is a preborn [an unborn] child unless [if] the |
|
conduct is: |
|
(1) committed by the mother of the preborn [unborn] |
|
child; or |
|
(2) an abortion performed, induced, or attempted to be |
|
performed or induced by a physician because of a medical emergency |
|
as defined by Section 171.002, Health and Safety Code [a lawful |
|
medical procedure performed by a physician or other health care |
|
provider with the requisite consent; |
|
[(3) a lawful medical procedure performed by a |
|
physician or other licensed health care provider with the requisite |
|
consent as part of an assisted reproduction as defined by Section |
|
160.102, Family Code; or |
|
[(4) the dispensation of a drug in accordance with law |
|
or administration of a drug prescribed in accordance with law]. |
|
SECTION 4.04. The following provisions are repealed: |
|
(1) Section 33.002(b), Family Code; and |
|
(2) Section 171.063(b), Health and Safety Code. |
|
SECTION 4.05. (a) Subchapter C, Chapter 170, Health and |
|
Safety Code, as added by this article, and Sections 19.06 and 22.12, |
|
Penal Code, as amended by this article, shall be construed, as a |
|
matter of state law, to be enforceable to the maximum possible |
|
extent consistent with but not further than federal constitutional |
|
requirements, even if that construction is not readily apparent, as |
|
such constructions are authorized only to the extent necessary to |
|
save the subchapter from judicial invalidation. Judicial |
|
reformation of statutory language is explicitly authorized only to |
|
the extent necessary to save the statutory provision from |
|
invalidity. |
|
(b) If any court determines that a provision described by |
|
Subsection (a) of this section is unconstitutionally vague, the |
|
court shall interpret the provision, as a matter of state law, to |
|
avoid the vagueness problem and shall enforce the provision to the |
|
maximum possible extent. If a federal court finds any provision |
|
described by Subsection (a) of this section or its application to |
|
any person, group of persons, or circumstances to be |
|
unconstitutionally vague and declines to impose the saving |
|
construction described by this section, the Texas Supreme Court |
|
shall provide an authoritative construction of the objectionable |
|
statutory provisions that avoids the constitutional problems while |
|
enforcing the statute's restrictions to the maximum possible extent |
|
and shall agree to answer any question certified from a federal |
|
appellate court regarding the statute. |
|
(c) An executive or administrative state official may not |
|
decline to enforce a provision described by Subsection (a) of this |
|
section, or adopt a construction of that provision or this section |
|
in a way that narrows its applicability, based on the official's own |
|
beliefs concerning the requirements of the state or federal |
|
constitution, unless the official is enjoined by a state or federal |
|
court from enforcing that provision. |
|
(d) Sections 19.06 and 22.12, Penal Code, as amended by this |
|
article, may not be construed to authorize the prosecution of or a |
|
cause of action to be brought against a woman on whom an abortion is |
|
performed, induced, or attempted to be performed or induced in |
|
violation of Section 170.101, Health and Safety Code, as added by |
|
this article. |
|
ARTICLE 5. TRANSITIONS, SEVERABILITY, PREEMPTION, |
|
CONSTITUTIONALITY, AND EFFECTIVE DATE |
|
SECTION 5.01. Not later than December 1, 2021: |
|
(1) the Health and Human Services Commission shall: |
|
(A) develop the perinatal palliative care |
|
informational materials, list of perinatal palliative care |
|
providers and programs, and perinatal palliative care |
|
certification form required by Subchapter X, Chapter 161, Health |
|
and Safety Code, as added by this Act; and |
|
(B) update any forms and informational materials |
|
under Subchapter B, Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, as amended |
|
by this Act; and |
|
(2) the executive commissioner of the Health and Human |
|
Services Commission shall adopt any rules necessary to implement |
|
Subchapter X, Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, as added by this |
|
Act, and Subchapter B, Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, as |
|
amended by this Act. |
|
SECTION 5.02. (a) Subchapter X, Chapter 161, Health and |
|
Safety Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a diagnosis of a |
|
life-threatening disability of a pregnant woman's preborn child |
|
made on or after January 1, 2022. |
|
(b) Subchapter B, Chapter 170, Health and Safety Code, as |
|
added by this Act, Subchapters B and C, Chapter 171, Health and |
|
Safety Code, as amended by this Act, and Chapter 164, Occupations |
|
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an abortion performed, |
|
induced, or attempted to be performed or induced or other conduct |
|
that occurred on or after January 1, 2022. An abortion performed, |
|
induced, or attempted to be performed or induced or other conduct |
|
that occurred before that date is governed by the law in effect |
|
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is |
|
continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
(c) Subchapter C, Chapter 170, Health and Safety Code, as |
|
added by this Act, applies only to an abortion that is performed, |
|
induced, or attempted to be performed or induced on or after the |
|
effective date of Article 4 of this Act. |
|
(d) Subchapter H, Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, as |
|
added by this Act, applies only to an abortion performed, induced, |
|
or attempted to be performed or induced on or after January 1, 2022. |
|
(e) Sections 19.06 and 22.12, Penal Code, as amended by this |
|
Act, apply only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective |
|
date of Article 4 of this Act. Conduct that occurs before that date |
|
is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, |
|
and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
(f) Sections 19.06 and 22.12, Penal Code, as amended by this |
|
Act, apply only to an offense committed on or after the effective |
|
date of Article 4 of this Act. An offense committed before that |
|
date is governed by the law in effect when the offense was |
|
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
|
purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an offense is committed |
|
before the effective date of Article 4 of this Act if any element of |
|
the offense occurs before that date. |
|
SECTION 5.03. (a) It is the intent of the legislature that |
|
if a court suspends enforcement of any provision of this Act, the |
|
suspension is not to be regarded as repealing that provision. |
|
(b) If any provision of this Act is held invalid or if the |
|
application of any provision to any person or circumstance is held |
|
invalid, the invalidity of that provision or application does not |
|
affect any other provision or application of this Act that can be |
|
given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to |
|
this end, the provisions of this Act are severable. It is the |
|
intent of the legislature that any invalidity or potential |
|
invalidity of a provision of this Act does not impair the immediate |
|
and continuing enforceability of the remaining provisions. It is |
|
furthermore the intent of the legislature that the provisions of |
|
this Act do not have the effect of repealing or limiting any other |
|
laws of this state. |
|
(c) The legislature intends that each provision of this Act |
|
as applicable to each individual woman is severable from each other |
|
provision of this Act. In the unexpected event that a court finds |
|
the application of any provision of this Act to impose an |
|
impermissible undue burden on any pregnant woman or group of |
|
pregnant women, the application of the provision to those women is |
|
severed from the application of the remaining provisions of this |
|
Act that do not impose an undue burden, and those remaining |
|
applications remain in force and unaffected, consistent with |
|
Section 5.02 of this article. |
|
SECTION 5.04. (a) After the issuance of a decision by the |
|
United States Supreme Court overruling any prior ruling that |
|
prohibits states from wholly or partly prohibiting abortion, the |
|
issuance of any court order or judgment restoring, expanding, or |
|
clarifying the authority of states to wholly or partly prohibit or |
|
regulate abortion, or the effective date of an amendment to the |
|
United States Constitution restoring, expanding, or clarifying the |
|
authority of states to wholly or partly prohibit or regulate |
|
abortion, the attorney general may apply to the appropriate state |
|
or federal court for: |
|
(1) a declaration that any one or more provisions of |
|
this Act are constitutional; or |
|
(2) a judgment or order lifting an injunction against |
|
the enforcement of any one or more provisions of this Act. |
|
(b) If the attorney general fails to apply for the relief |
|
described by Subsection (a) of this section not later than the 30th |
|
day after the date an event described by that subsection occurs, any |
|
district attorney may apply to the appropriate state or federal |
|
court for the relief described by that subsection. |
|
SECTION 5.05. The Health and Human Services Commission is |
|
required to implement a provision of this Act only if the |
|
legislature appropriates money to the commission specifically for |
|
that purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money |
|
specifically for that purpose, the commission may, but is not |
|
required to, implement a provision of this Act using other |
|
appropriations that are available for that purpose. |
|
SECTION 5.06. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this |
|
section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
|
(b) Article 4 of this Act takes effect the earlier of: |
|
(1) to the extent permitted, on the 30th day after: |
|
(A) the issuance of a United States Supreme Court |
|
judgment in a decision overruling, wholly or partly, Roe v. Wade, |
|
410 U.S. 113 (1973), as modified by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 |
|
U.S. 833 (1992), thereby allowing the states of the United States to |
|
prohibit abortion; |
|
(B) the issuance of any other United States |
|
Supreme Court judgment in a decision that recognizes, wholly or |
|
partly, the authority of the states to prohibit abortion; or |
|
(C) adoption of an amendment to the United States |
|
Constitution that, wholly or partly, restores to the states the |
|
authority to prohibit abortion; |
|
(2) the 91st day after the date the attorney general |
|
submits a report required by Section 171.0055, Health and Safety |
|
Code, as added by this Act, that certifies that a court of competent |
|
jurisdiction has held provisions substantially similar to the |
|
provisions in Article 4 of this Act to be constitutional; or |
|
(3) September 1, 2025. |