Texas Abortion Complication Reporting Requirements (SB 85)

SB 85 would require health facilities and physicians who perform abortions to submit reports on each abortion complication diagnosed or treated at the facility.

Such reports must identify the name and type of facility submitting the report and must include, if known, for each abortion complication:

• the date of the abortion that caused or may have caused the complication;
• the type of abortion that caused or may have caused the complication;
• the gestational age of the fetus when the abortion was performed;
• the name and type of the facility in which the abortion was performed;
• the date the complication was diagnosed or treated;
• the name and type of any facility other than the reporting facility in which the complication was diagnosed or treated;
• a description of the complication;
• the patient’s year of birth, race, marital status, and state and county of residence;
• the date of the first day of the patient’s last menstrual period that occurred before the date of the abortion that caused or may have caused the complication;
• the number of previous live births of the patient; and
• the number of previous induced abortions of the patient.

Such reports would be confidential and not open to public record.

A facility that violates this law would be subject to a civil penalty of $500 for each violation. The third separate violation of this section would constitute a cause for the revocation or suspension of a facility’s license, permit, registration, certificate, or other authority or for other disciplinary action.

Related Legislation

Similar to HB 13, HB 195, and SB 10.

Similar to HB 2962/SB 1602 and SB 872, all of which failed to pass during the regular 2017 legislative session.

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