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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to voluntary and informed consent for an abortion. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 171.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) Except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to an |
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abortion is voluntary and informed only if: |
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(1) the physician who is to perform the abortion or the |
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referring physician informs the woman on whom the abortion is to be |
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performed of: |
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(A) the name of the physician who will perform |
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the abortion; |
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(B) the particular medical risks associated with |
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the particular abortion procedure to be employed, including, when |
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medically accurate: |
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(i) the risks of infection and hemorrhage; |
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and |
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(ii) the potential danger to a subsequent |
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pregnancy and of infertility; [and
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[(iii)
the possibility of increased risk of
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breast cancer following an induced abortion and the natural
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protective effect of a completed pregnancy in avoiding breast
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cancer;] |
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(C) the probable gestational age of the unborn |
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child at the time the abortion is to be performed; and |
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(D) the medical risks associated with carrying |
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the child to term; |
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(2) the physician who is to perform the abortion or the |
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physician's agent informs the woman that: |
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(A) medical assistance benefits may be available |
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for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care; |
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(B) the father is liable for assistance in the |
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support of the child without regard to whether the father has |
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offered to pay for the abortion; |
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(C) public and private agencies provide |
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pregnancy prevention counseling and medical referrals for |
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obtaining pregnancy prevention medications or devices, including |
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emergency contraception for victims of rape or incest; and |
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(D) the woman has the right to review the printed |
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materials described by Section 171.014, that those materials have |
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been provided by the [Texas] Department of State Health Services |
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and are accessible on an Internet website sponsored by the |
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department, and that the materials describe the unborn child and |
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list agencies that offer alternatives to abortion; |
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(3) the woman certifies in writing before the abortion |
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is performed that the information described by Subdivisions (1) and |
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(2) has been provided to her and that she has been informed of her |
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opportunity to review the information described by Section 171.014; |
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and |
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(4) before the abortion is performed, the physician |
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who is to perform the abortion receives a copy of the written |
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certification required by Subdivision (3). |
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SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2009, the |
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Department of State Health Services shall: |
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(1) revise the informational materials the department |
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is required to publish under Section 171.014, Health and Safety |
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Code; and |
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(2) make the materials available for distribution. |
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(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to the |
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abortion information a physician is required to provide under |
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Section 171.012, Health and Safety Code, on or after January 1, |
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2010. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |