By: Patrick S.B. No. 1790

(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2011; March 23, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services; May 13, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 2; May 13, 2011, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1790 By: Patrick

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to distributing or prescribing abortion-inducing drugs; providing an administrative penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subchapter D to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER D. ABORTION-INDUCING DRUGS

Sec. 171.081. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing an instrument, a medicine, a drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate a clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman and with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the woman's unborn child. An act is not an abortion if the act is done with the intent to:

(A) save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child;

(B) remove a dead unborn child whose death was caused by spontaneous abortion;

(C) remove an ectopic pregnancy; or

(D) treat a maternal disease or illness for which the prescribed drug is indicated.

(2) "Abortion-inducing drug" means a medicine, a drug, or any other substance prescribed or dispensed with the intent of terminating a clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman and with knowledge that the termination will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the woman's unborn child. The term includes off-label use of drugs known to have abortion-inducing properties that are prescribed with the intent of causing an abortion, including misoprostol and methotrexate. The term does not include a drug that may be known to cause an abortion but is prescribed for other medical reasons.

(3) "Drug label" means a pamphlet accompanying an abortion-inducing drug that:

(A) outlines the protocol tested and authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration and agreed to by the drug company applying for authorization of the drug by that agency; and

(B) delineates how a drug is to be used according to approval by that agency.

(4) "Gestational age" means the amount of time that has elapsed since the first day of a woman's last menstrual period.

(5) "Medical abortion" means the use of abortion-inducing drugs to induce an abortion.

(6) "Physician" means an individual who is licensed to practice medicine in this state, including a medical doctor and a doctor of osteopathic medicine.

(7) "Pregnant" means the female reproductive condition of having an unborn child in a woman's uterus.

(8) "Unborn child" means an offspring of human beings from conception until birth.

Sec. 171.082. ENFORCEMENT BY TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD. Notwithstanding Section 171.005, the Texas Medical Board shall enforce this subchapter.

Sec. 171.083. DISTRIBUTION OF ABORTION-INDUCING DRUG. (a) A person may not knowingly give, sell, dispense, administer, provide, or prescribe an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant woman for the purpose of inducing an abortion in the pregnant woman or enabling another person to induce an abortion in the pregnant woman unless:

(1) the person who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug is a physician; and

(2) the provision or prescription of the abortion-inducing drug satisfies the protocol tested and authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration as outlined in the abortion-inducing drug's drug label.

(b) Before the physician gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug, the physician must examine the pregnant woman and document, in the woman's medical record, the gestational age and intrauterine location of the pregnancy.

(c) The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug shall provide the pregnant woman with a copy of the abortion-inducing drug's drug label.

(d) The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug must:

(1) have a signed contract with another physician who agrees to treat emergencies arising from use of the drug; and

(2) produce the signed contract on demand by the pregnant woman or the Texas Medical Board.

(e) The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug shall provide the pregnant woman with the name and phone number of:

(1) the physician who would treat an emergency arising from use of the drug; and

(2) the hospital at which an emergency arising from use of the drug would be treated.

(f) A physician who contracts to treat an emergency arising from use of an abortion-inducing drug must have active admitting, gynecological, and surgical privileges at the hospital designated to treat the emergency.

(g) The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug, or the physician's agent, must schedule a follow-up visit for the woman to occur not more than 14 days after the administration of the drug. At the follow-up visit, the physician must:

(1) confirm that the pregnancy is completely terminated; and

(2) assess the degree of bleeding.

(h) The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug, or the physician's agent, shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that the woman returns for the scheduled appointment. The physician or the physician's agent shall include a brief description of any effort made to comply with this subsection, including the date, time, and name of the person making the effort, in the woman's medical record.

(i) If a physician provides an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant woman for the purpose of inducing an abortion as authorized by this section and the physician knows that the woman experiences a serious adverse event, as defined by the MedWatch Reporting System, during or after using the drug, the physician shall report the event to the United States Food and Drug Administration through the MedWatch Reporting System within three days of the event.

Sec. 171.084. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) The Texas Medical Board may:

(1) take disciplinary action under Chapter 164, Occupations Code, against a person who violates Section 171.083; or

(2) assess an administrative penalty under Subchapter A, Chapter 165, Occupations Code, against a person who violates Section 171.083.

(b) A penalty may not be assessed under this section against a pregnant woman who receives a medical abortion.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.

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