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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the definition and provision of an abortion-inducing |
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drug. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 171.061(2), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(2) "Abortion-inducing drug" means a drug, a medicine, |
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or any other substance, including a regimen of two or more drugs, |
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medicines, or substances, prescribed, dispensed, or administered |
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with the intent of terminating a clinically diagnosable pregnancy |
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of a woman and with knowledge that the termination will, with |
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reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the woman's unborn |
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child. The term includes off-label use of drugs, medicines, or |
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other substances known to have abortion-inducing properties that |
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are prescribed, dispensed, or administered with the intent of |
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causing an abortion, including the Mifeprex regimen, and |
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misoprostol (Cytotec)[, and methotrexate]. The term does not |
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include a drug, medicine, or other substance that may be known to |
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cause an abortion but is prescribed, dispensed, or administered for |
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other medical reasons. |
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SECTION 2. Section 171.063(c), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(c) Before the physician provides an abortion-inducing |
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drug, the physician must: |
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(1) examine the pregnant woman in person; |
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(2) independently verify that a pregnancy exists; |
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(3) [document, in the woman's medical record, the |
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gestational age and intrauterine location of the pregnancy to |
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determine whether an ectopic pregnancy exists; |
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[(4)] determine the pregnant woman's blood type, and |
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for a woman who is Rh negative, offer to administer Rh |
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immunoglobulin (RhoGAM) at the time the abortion-inducing drug is |
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administered or used or the abortion is performed or induced to |
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prevent Rh incompatibility, complications, or miscarriage in |
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future pregnancies; |
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(4) [(5)] document whether the pregnant woman |
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received treatment for Rh negativity, as diagnosed by the most |
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accurate standard of medical care; and |
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(5) [(6)] ensure the physician does not provide an |
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abortion-inducing drug for a pregnant woman whose pregnancy is more |
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than 49 days of gestational age. |
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SECTION 3. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply |
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only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this |
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Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to the |
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imposition of an administrative penalty for a violation that occurs |
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on or after the effective date of this Act. The imposition of an |
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administrative penalty for a violation that occurs before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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date the violation occurred, and the former law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |