85R5919 LED-F
	By: Sanford	H.B. No. 2878

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the right of conscientious refusal of a health care
	service.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  (a)  This Act may be cited as the Texas Health
	Care Right of Conscience Act.
	(b)  The legislature finds and declares that people and
	organizations hold different beliefs about whether certain health
	care services and medical care are morally acceptable. It is the
	public policy of this state to:
	(1)  respect and protect the right of conscience of all
	persons who refuse to receive, obtain, or accept, or who are engaged
	in the delivery of, arrangement for, or payment of health care
	services and medical care whether acting individually,
	corporately, or in association with other persons;
	(2)  prohibit all forms of discrimination,
	disqualification, coercion, disability, or imposition of liability
	on those persons or entities for refusing to act contrary to their
	conscience or conscientious convictions in providing, paying for,
	or arranging for the payment of health care services and medical
	care; and
	(3)  ensure that patients receive timely access to
	information and medically appropriate care.
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended
	by adding Subchapter Y to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER Y.  TEXAS HEALTH CARE RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE ACT
	Sec. 161.751.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
	(1)  "Conscience" means a sincerely held set of moral
	convictions arising from:
	(A)  a belief in and relation to God; or
	(B)  a place in the life of its possessor parallel
	to that filled by God among adherents to religious faiths.
	(2)  "Conscientious refusal of a health care service"
	means a person's refusal to receive, obtain, perform, assist in
	performing, give advice regarding, suggest, recommend, refer, or
	participate in a health care service that is contrary to the
	person's conscience.
	(3)  "Health care facility" means a public or private
	organization, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship,
	association, agency, network, joint venture, or other entity that
	provides health care services, including a hospital, clinic,
	medical center, ambulatory surgical center, private physician's
	office, pharmacy, nursing home, laboratory or diagnostic facility,
	infirmary, dispensary, medical school, nursing school, or medical
	training facility.
	(4)  "Health care provider" means a nurse, nurse aide,
	medical assistant, hospital employee, clinic employee, nursing
	home employee, pharmacist, pharmacy employee, researcher, medical
	or nursing school student, professional, paraprofessional, or any
	other individual who furnishes or assists in the furnishing of
	health care services.
	(5)  "Health care service" means any phase of patient
	medical care or treatment, including:
	(A)  testing, diagnosis, prognosis, ancillary
	research, instruction, medication, and surgery;
	(B)  family planning, counseling, and referrals,
	and any other advice in connection with the use or procurement of
	contraceptives, sterilization, or abortion; and
	(C)  any other care or treatment rendered by a
	health care facility, physician, or health care provider.
	(6)  "Physician" means a person licensed to practice
	medicine in this state.
	(7)  "Undue delay" means an unreasonable delay that
	impairs a patient's health.
	Sec. 161.752.  IMMUNITY OF PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH CARE
	PROVIDERS. A physician or health care provider may not be held
	civilly or criminally liable solely because of the physician's or
	health care provider's conscientious refusal of a health care
	service.
	Sec. 161.753.  DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO LICENSING. A
	person violates this subchapter by discriminating against another
	person because of the person's conscientious refusal of a health
	care service, including discrimination with regard to:
	(1)  licensing;
	(2)  hiring, promoting, or transferring; and
	(3)  granting of staff appointments or other
	privileges.
	Sec. 161.754.  DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO EMPLOYMENT. A
	person, including a medical school or other institution that
	conducts education or training programs for physicians or health
	care providers, violates this subchapter by discriminating against
	an applicant because of the applicant's conscientious refusal of a
	health care service, including discrimination by:
	(1)  denying employment, admission, or participation
	in a program for which an applicant is eligible;
	(2)  referring to conscientious refusal in an
	application form;
	(3)  questioning an applicant regarding the applicant's
	conscientious refusal of a health care service; and
	(4)  imposing a burden in the terms or conditions of
	employment.
	Sec. 161.755.  DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO BENEFITS. A
	person, including a public official, violates this subchapter by
	discriminating against a recipient entitled to any type of aid,
	assistance, or benefits because of the recipient's conscientious
	refusal of a health care service, including discrimination by:
	(1)  denying aid, assistance, or benefits;
	(2)  conditioning receipt of the aid, assistance, or
	benefits; or
	(3)  coercing or disqualifying the recipient.
	Sec. 161.756.  CONSCIENTIOUS REFUSAL PROTOCOL. (a) A health
	care facility shall develop a written conscientious refusal
	protocol describing a patient's access to care and information to
	ensure that a conscientious refusal of a health care service does
	not impair a patient's health. The protocol must explain the
	process the health care facility will implement to address a
	conscientious refusal of a health care service in a timely manner to
	facilitate the patient's health care service. The protocol must, at
	a minimum, require a health care facility, physician, or health
	care provider to:
	(1)  timely inform a patient of the patient's
	condition, prognosis, legal treatment options, and risks and
	benefits of treatment options, consistent with accepted standards
	of medical care; and
	(2)  provide copies of the patient's medical records to
	the patient or to another health care facility, physician, or
	health care provider designated by the patient in accordance with
	medical privacy laws, without undue delay, if requested by the
	patient or the patient's legal representative.
	(b)  This section does not require a health care facility,
	physician, or health care provider to counsel a patient regarding a
	health care service that is contrary to the conscience of the health
	care facility, physician, or health care provider. The information
	required by Subsection (a)(1) may be provided by a health care
	facility, physician, or health care provider other than the health
	care facility, physician, or health care provider with a
	conscientious refusal of a health care service.
	(c)  A health care facility, physician, or health care
	provider may not recover damages under Section 161.757 unless the
	health care facility, physician, or health care provider, as
	applicable, complies with the applicable health care facility's
	conscientious refusal protocol developed under this section.
	Sec. 161.757.  VIOLATION. (a)  A person who is injured by a
	violation of this subchapter may bring a civil action against a
	person who violates this subchapter.
	(b)  A person who brings an action under this section may
	obtain:
	(1)  three times the person's actual damages, including
	pain and suffering, or $2,500, whichever is greater;
	(2)  court costs; and
	(3)  reasonable attorney's fees.
	(c)  The civil damages authorized by this section are in
	addition to any other remedy available by law.
	Sec. 161.758.  SOVEREIGN AND GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY WAIVED.
	Sovereign and governmental immunity to suit and from liability is
	waived and abolished to the extent of liability created by Section
	161.757.  A person may sue a governmental entity for damages allowed
	by that section.
	Sec. 161.759.  EFFECT OF PREVIOUS AGREEMENTS. This
	subchapter may not be construed to exempt a person from liability
	for refusal to allow or provide a particular health care service if:
	(1)  the person has entered into a contract
	specifically to provide that health care service; or
	(2)  the person has accepted federal or state funds
	solely and specifically conditioned on allowing or providing that
	health care service.
	SECTION 3.  Not later than December 1, 2017, a health care
	facility, as that term is defined by Section 161.751, Health and
	Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall adopt a conscientious
	refusal protocol required by Section 161.756, Health and Safety
	Code, as added by this Act.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  Section 161.752, Health and Safety Code, as
	added by this Act, does not apply to a cause of action that accrued
	before the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that
	accrued before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
	applicable to the cause of action immediately before that date, and
	that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	(b)  Section 161.757, Health and Safety Code, as added by
	this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after
	the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that accrues
	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
	applicable to the cause of action immediately before that date, and
	that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.