2023 Texas Statutes › Health and Safety Code › Title 2 - Health › Subtitle H - Public Health Provisions › Chapter 171 - Abortion › Subchapter B. Informed Consent › Section 171.012. Voluntary and Informed Consent

Sec. 171.012.  VOLUNTARY AND INFORMED CONSENT.  (a)  Consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed only if:
(1)  the physician who is to perform or induce the abortion informs the pregnant woman on whom the abortion is to be performed or induced 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 or induced; and
(D)  the medical risks associated with carrying the child to term;
(2)  the physician who is to perform or induce 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 or induce 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 commission;
(ii)  are accessible on an Internet website sponsored by the commission;
(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 or induce 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 or induced;
(B)  the physician who is to perform or induce 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 or induce 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 or induce 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 or induced 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 UNBORN CHILD 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, TEXAS HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE, 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 or induced, the physician who is to perform or induce 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.
(a-1)  During a visit made to a facility to fulfill the requirements of Subsection (a), the facility and any person at the facility may not accept any form of payment, deposit, or exchange or make any financial agreement for an abortion or abortion-related services other than for payment of a service required by Subsection (a).  The amount charged for a service required by Subsection (a) may not exceed the reimbursement rate established for the service by the executive commissioner for statewide medical reimbursement programs.
(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 on a private call 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.
(c)  When providing the information under Subsection (a)(3), the physician or the physician's agent must provide the pregnant woman with the address of the Internet website on which the printed materials described by Section 171.014 may be viewed as required by Section 171.014(e).
(d)  The information provided to the woman under Subsection (a)(2)(B) must include, based on information available from the Office of the Attorney General and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child Support Enforcement for the three-year period preceding the publication of the information, information regarding the statistical likelihood of collecting child support.
(e)  The department is not required to republish informational materials described by Subsection (a)(2)(B) because of a change in information described by Subsection (d) unless the statistical information in the materials changes by five percent or more.
(f)  The physician who is to perform the abortion, or the physician's designee, shall in person hand to the pregnant woman a copy of the informational materials described by Section 171.014:
(1)  on the day of the consultation required under Subsection (a)(4) for a pregnant woman who lives less than 100 miles from the nearest abortion provider that is a facility licensed under Chapter 245 or a facility in which more than 50 abortions are performed in any 12-month period; or
(2)  before any sedative or anesthesia is administered to the pregnant woman on the day of the abortion and at least two hours before the abortion if the woman lives 100 miles or more from the nearest abortion provider that is a facility licensed under Chapter 245 or a facility in which more than 50 abortions are performed in any 12-month period.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 999, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 73 (H.B. 15), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0518, eff. April 2, 2015.
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 502 (S.B. 24), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2019.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 62 (S.B. 8), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2021.