79R4758 JTS-F


By:  Corte                                                        H.B. No. 1469



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to informed consent to an abortion.                                  
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Sections 171.012(a) and (b), Health and Safety 
Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to an 
abortion is voluntary and informed only if:
		(1)  the physician who is to perform the abortion or the 
referring physician informs the woman on whom the abortion is to be 
performed of:
			(A)  the name of the physician who will perform 
the abortion;              
			(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 unborn 
child at the time the abortion is to be performed; and
			(D)  the medical risks associated with carrying 
the child to term;         
		(2)  the physician who is to perform the abortion or the 
physician's agent informs the 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;
			(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; and
			(D)  the woman has the right to review the printed 
materials described by Section 171.014, that those materials have 
been provided by the [Texas] Department of State Health Services 
and are accessible on an Internet website sponsored by the 
department, and that the materials describe the unborn child and 
list agencies that offer alternatives to abortion;
		(3)  the woman certifies in writing before the abortion 
is performed that the information described by Subdivisions (1) and 
(2) and the printed materials described by Section 171.014 have
[has] been provided to her and that she has been informed of her 
opportunity to review the information described by Section 171.014; 
[and]
		(4)  before the abortion is performed, the physician 
who is to perform the abortion receives a copy of the written 
certification required by Subdivision (3); and
		(5)  the physician provides the woman with the printed 
materials described by Section 171.014.
	(b)  The information required to be provided under 
Subsections (a)(1) and (2):
		(1)  must be provided:                                                 
			(A) [(1)]  orally by telephone or in person; and     
			(B) [(2)]  at least 24 hours before the abortion 
is to be performed; and
		(2)  may not be provided by audio or video recording.                  
	SECTION 2.  Section 171.013(a), Health and Safety Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The [If the woman chooses to view the materials 
described by Section 171.014, the] physician or the physician's 
agent shall furnish copies of the materials described by Section 
171.014 to the woman [her] at least 24 hours before the abortion is 
to be performed.  A physician or the physician's agent may furnish 
the materials to the woman by mail if the materials are mailed, 
restricted delivery to addressee, at least 72 hours before the 
abortion is to be performed.
	SECTION 3.  Section 171.013(b), Health and Safety Code, is 
repealed.         
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.