80R10211 MCK-D
 
  By: Patrick, Dan S.B. No. 1567
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the adoption incentive program.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Subtitle B, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 50 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 50. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PROGRAM
       Sec. 50.001.  ADOPTION INCENTIVE PROGRAM.  (a)  The
department shall develop a program to encourage pregnant women to
place their children for adoption rather than have an abortion.
       (b)  The program must include a $500 payment to each woman
who is a resident of this state and a citizen of the United States
who places a child for adoption rather than have an abortion.
       Sec. 50.002.  APPLICATION FORM. (a) The department shall
develop an application form to be used by a woman who applies for
funds under this chapter.
       (b)  The department may only distribute the application
forms to abortion providers.
       Sec. 50.003.  APPLICATION. A woman requesting funds under
this chapter must apply for the funds on the form developed by the
department not later than the 30th day after the date the child is
born.
       Sec. 50.004.  PAYMENT OF FUNDS. (a)  The department shall
process each application for funds under this chapter to determine
whether the woman is eligible. If the woman is eligible for funds,
the department shall make the payment to the woman not later than
the 60th day after the date the woman's parental rights are
terminated.
       (b)  Section 25.08, Penal Code, does not apply to the grant
or acceptance of money under this section.
       Sec. 50.005.  NOTIFICATION REQUIRED; APPLICATION FORM. (a)
Notification of the program under this chapter is required as part
of the informed consent requirements under Chapter 171.
       (b)  An abortion provider shall distribute a copy of the
funds application form to each woman who comes to the provider
seeking an abortion.
       Sec. 50.006.  RULES.  The executive commissioner of the
Health and Human Services Commission may adopt rules to implement
this chapter.
       SECTION 2.  Section 171.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is
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; and
                   (E)  the woman is entitled to receive $500 from
the Department of State Health Services under Chapter 50 if the
woman places the child for adoption;
             (3)  the woman certifies in writing before the abortion
is performed that the information described by Subdivisions (1) and
(2) 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).
       SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.