87R9385 SCL-F
 
  By: Hefner H.B. No. 2727
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to voluntary and informed consent to an abortion.
         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; and
                     (D)  a person commits a criminal offense if the
  person causes or threatens bodily injury to a pregnant woman to
  force the woman to have an abortion;
               (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 Department of
  State Health Services;
                           (ii)  are accessible on an Internet website
  sponsored by the 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 UNDERSTAND THAT A PERSON VIOLATES THE TEXAS
  PENAL CODE BY CAUSING OR THREATENING BODILY INJURY TO A PREGNANT
  WOMAN TO FORCE THE WOMAN TO HAVE AN ABORTION AND THAT I HAVE A RIGHT
  TO CONTACT ANY LOCAL OR STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO RECEIVE
  PROTECTION FROM ANY ACTUAL OR THREATENED PHYSICAL ABUSE OR
  VIOLENCE, WHICH IS CONDUCT CLASSIFIED AS AN ASSAULT UNDER THE TEXAS
  PENAL CODE.
               (8) [(7)]  I AM MAKING THIS ELECTION OF MY OWN FREE WILL
  AND WITHOUT COERCION.
               (9) [(8)]  FOR A WOMAN WHO 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 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 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.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 171.014(a) and (f), Health and Safety
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department shall publish informational materials
  that include:
               (1)  the information required to be provided under
  Sections 171.012(a)(1)(B) and (D) and (a)(2)(A), (B), [and] (C),
  and (D); and
               (2)  the materials required by Sections 171.015 and
  171.016.
         (f)  In addition to any other organization or entity, the
  department shall use the American College of Obstetricians and
  Gynecologists as the resource in developing information required to
  be provided under Sections 171.012(a)(1)(B) and (D), Sections
  171.012(a)(2)(A), (B), [and] (C), and (D), and Section 171.016, and
  in maintaining the department's Internet website.
         SECTION 3.  (a) By not later than December 1, 2021, the
  Health and Human Services Commission shall:
               (1)  revise the informational materials the commission
  is required to publish under Section 171.014, Health and Safety
  Code, as amended by this Act; and
               (2)  make the materials available for distribution.
         (b)  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to the
  information a physician is required to provide under Section
  171.012, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, on or after
  January 1, 2022.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.