84R4171 SCL-F
 
  By: Farrar H.B. No. 709
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the waiting period before a physician may perform an
  abortion.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 171.012(a) and (b), Health and Safety
  Code, are 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 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 is
  performed [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 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.
         (b)  The information required to be provided under
  Subsections (a)(1) and (2) may not be provided by audio or video
  recording and must be provided, [at least 24 hours] before the
  abortion is to be performed,[:
               [(1)]  orally and in person in a private and
  confidential setting [if the pregnant woman currently lives less
  than 100 miles 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; or
               [(2)     orally by telephone or in person in a private and
  confidential setting if the pregnant woman certifies that the woman
  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].
         SECTION 2.  Section 171.017, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 171.017.  PERIODS RUN CONCURRENTLY.  If the woman is an
  unemancipated minor subject to Chapter 33, Family Code, the 24-hour
  period [periods] established under Section [Sections 171.012(b)
  and] 171.013(a) may run concurrently with the period during which
  actual or constructive notice is provided under Section 33.002,
  Family Code.
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to an abortion performed on or after the effective date of this Act.
  An abortion performed before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the abortion is performed,
  and that law continues in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  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, 2015.