By: King of Parker H.B. No. 4463
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to required counseling before an abortion is performed.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 171.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed only
  if:
               (1)  the physician who is to perform the abortion
  informs the pregnant woman on whom the abortion is to be performed
  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 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 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 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 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 more than 50
  abortions in any 12-month period:
                     (A)  the physician who is to perform 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;
                     (B)  the physician who is to perform 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, the physician
  who is to perform 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; and
               (8)  except during a medical emergency and before the
  abortion is performed, the physician certifies using a unique
  identifying number, devoid of personally identifying information
  of the pregnant woman, that:
                     (A)  the pregnant woman received pre-abortion
  counseling at no cost to the pregnant woman from a counselor who:
                           (i)  meets the qualifications established by
  commission rule;
                           (ii)  is not employed by, contracted with,
  or has a pecuniary interest in a facility licensed under Chapter
  245, Health Safety Code;
                           (iii)  is authorized under a contract with
  the commission to provide counseling services in accordance with
  this subdivision; and
                     (B)  the counselor provided the pregnant woman in
  accordance with commission rules:
                           (i)  medically accurate information using
  the informational materials described by Section 171.014;
                           (ii)  an assessment of and offer of
  assistance in obtaining support services other than abortion that
  the pregnant woman may need or be eligible for, including housing,
  employment, resume development, child care, medical care, adoption
  services, and health benefit plan coverage;
                           (iii)  education on available state and
  local resources to address the pregnant woman's socioeconomic
  needs;
                           (iv)  screening for domestic violence,
  coercion of abortion, or human trafficking; and
                     (C)  the counselor certified using a unique
  identifying number, devoid of personally identifying information
  of the pregnant woman, that the pregnant woman completed the
  counseling.
                     (D)  the counselor reported to the commission
  de-identified demographic information to assist the commission in
  determining the supply and demand of social services in the
  pregnant woman's geographic region.
         SECTION 2.  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 documentation of the
  completed counseling required under Section 171.012(a)(8) 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 documentation of the
  completed counseling required under Section 171.012(a)(8) shall be
  retained by the facility where the abortion is performed until:
               (1)  the seventh anniversary of the date it is signed;
  or
               (2)  if the pregnant woman is a minor, the later of:
                     (A)  the seventh anniversary of the date it is
  signed; or
                     (B)  the woman's 21st birthday.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  Notwithstanding Sections 171.012 and
  171.0121, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, a
  physician is not required to comply with the changes in law made by
  this Act before March 1, 2020.
         (b)  Not later than December 1, 2020, the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
  adopt rules as necessary to implement this Act.
         (c)  Not later than March 1, 2020, the Health and Human
  Services Commission shall contract with one or more counseling
  providers throughout the state to provide the services described by
  Section 171.012, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  an abortion performed on or after March 1, 2020.  An abortion
  performed before March 1, 2020, is governed by the law applicable to
  the abortion immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
  that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         Section 5.  It is the intent of the legislature that every
  provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
  in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to
  each person or entity, are severable from each other.  If any
  application of any provision in this Act to any person, group of
  persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be invalid for any
  reason, the remaining applications of that provision to all other
  persons and circumstances shall be severed and may not be affected.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.