E ATTORNEY GENEHAL 

OF TEXAS 

PRICE DANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

AuAT~N~~.'I.ExA~ 

February 11, 1949 

Hon. John T. Nicholson 

County Attorney 

Comanche County 

Comanche, Texas 

Opinion No. v-768 

Re: The applicability of Article 

4442, V.C.S., and Article 701, 

V.P.C., relating to operation 

of 'maternity homes' to private 

hospitals. 

Dear Sir: 

Reference is made to your recent request which reads in 

part as follows: 

"The City of Comanche has a private hospital 

under the ownership and management of two brothers, 

acting as a partnership, and both licensed to pract-ice medicine and surgery in the State of Texas. 

The hospital engages in the general practice of 

medicine and surgery, not specializing in any certain 

thing, and keeps patients in beds during treatment, 

and cares for and treats pregnant women, and delivers their children. 

"The hospital was established under permission and authority of the City Council of 

Comanche, Texas, under the provisions of Art. 

1015, Sec. 4, Vernon's Rev. Civ. Stats., 1925. 

11 

. . . . 

“IS such a hospital an 

by Art. 4442, Vernon's 1925 

146, Acts 1935, 44th Leg., 

1, and by P.C. Art. 701? 

institution covered 

RCS, Acts 1921, p. 

p. 294, ch. 108, Sec. 

Articles 4442, Sec. l., V.C.S., and 7OlV.P.C., are as 

follows: 

'"Art. 4442. Maternity home 

"1 . Every individual, firm, association, 

or corporation, owning, keeping, conducting or 

managing an institution or home for the boarding 

or sheltering of Infant children, or so-called 
It is stated in 39 T 'ex. Jur, 228 that: "an emergency 

C lause may be considered if I 

W 'ill aid the Court in ascer,ta 

t sheds light upon the inquiry and 

ining the legislative intent. 

Hon. John T. Nicholson, page 2 V-768 

'Baby Farm,' or any lying-in hospital, hospital 

ward, maternity home or other place for the reception, care and treatment of pregnant women, 

and charging a fee or receiving or expecting compensation in the way of room rent or board, shall 

obtain an annual license which shall be issued by 

the State Board of Health without fee, shall not 

be transferable to other persons or other premises, 

and shall expire on the thirty-first day of December next following the issuance. The application 

for such license shall state the name and address 

of the licensee, the specific location of the 

building used, and the number of inmates which may 

be boarded there at one time, and shall be approved by the local health officer. No greater 

number of inmates shall be housed at one time in 

the building than is authorized by the license, 

and no pregnant woman or infant shall be kept in 

a building or place not designated in the license. 

A record of licenses issued shall be kept by the 

State Board of Health." 

"Art. 701. Maternity home 

"Any person, manager, keeper, or officer 

of any corporation, firm or association who shall 

keep or conduct any 'Baby Farm,' lying-in hospital, hospital ward, maternity home or place for 

the reception, care or" treatment of pregnant 

women without first having obtained a license 

from the State Board of Health as provided by law 

shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than 

five hundred dollars and in addition thereto may 

be confined in iail not to exceed twelve months." 

Acts 1921, pe 167. 

The emergency clause of Senate Bill 215 Acts of the 

37th Legislature, R-S., 1921, (Art. 4442, V.C.S.j is in part as 

follows: 

"Owing to the fact that the well-being of 

the public demands the regulation of the above 

mentioned places both from the standpoint of 

public health and from an ethical and moral 

standpoint and owing to the fact that no law at 

present time exists on the statute books of this 
Hon. John T. Nicholson, page 3 v-768 

State adequately controlllng such before mentioned place, creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity q . . . 

There is no general Hospital Licensing law in the State. 

However, over a long period the State Board of Health, the 

agency charged with enforcing the provisions under this Statute, 

has required that a hospital with a Maternity Ward be licensed 

under the provisions of Art. 4442, V.C.S., and it is the 

opinion of this office that such a construction placed upon the 

statutes is reasonable and sound. Since the Statute is ambiguous with respect to whether it applies to such an institution 

and there is no authority to the contrary, the departmental construction should be followed. 

This rule wa8 announced in the case of Texas Employers 

Insurance Association v. Holmes, 145 Tex. 158, 196 S.W. 2d 390, 

wherein Justice Sharp, speaking for the Court, stated as follows: 

"If a statute is ambigous and susceptible of 

more than one construction, there are certain well 

settled rules which govern its construction: 

"First, the practical interpretation of 

the Act by the agency charged with the duty of 

administering it is entitled to the highest 

respect from the Courts. And this is especially 

so when that interpretation has been long continued and uniform." 

Ir view of the foregoing it is OUT opinion that under 

the factual situation presented, such a hospital comes within the 

provisions of Articles 4442, V.C.S., and 701, V.P.C. 

SUMMARY 

A privately owned general hospital which has 

a maternity ward in which children are delivered 

and mothers are cared for is sequired to be licensed 

by the State Board of Health. Art. 4442, V.C.S. 

Art. 701, V.P.C. 

BA:bh:wc 

APPROVED 

s/Fagan Dickson 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By s/Bruce Allen 

Bruce Allen 

Assistant