Sponsored by: Rep. Bill Zedler (R-Arlington)
Summary: This bill would have required each physician who provides medical care to a woman who has a complication due to an abortion to report the following to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS): the date of birth of the patient, the name of the facility where the abortion was performed, the date of the abortion, the nature of the complications, and the name of the attending physician. Information collected by the DSHS would be kept confidential but the information may be released for statistical purposes, with the consent of all the parties identified, to enforce state licensing laws, or to appropriate federal agencies. A physician who intentionally violates these laws would be subject to sanction by the Texas Medical Board.
Information collected by the DSHS would be kept confidential but the information may be released for statistical purposes, with the consent of all the parties identified, to enforce state licensing laws, or to appropriate federal agencies.
A physician who intentionally violates these laws would be subject to sanction by the Texas Medical Board.
PPNT Position: Opposed—This was another attempt to intimidate doctors who perform abortions and women who elect to have the procedure. HB 1131 singled out abortion procedures for this kind of reporting. (Under current law, doctors are not required to report complications from any other surgical procedure to DSHS.) This bill infringed upon the patient’s privacy and would have forced physicians to violate doctor-patient confidentiality.
Latest Action: 05/01/2007 - Voted favorably from the House State Affairs Committee and sent to the House Calendars Committee. UPDATE: On April 25, HB 1131 was voted favorably from the House State Affairs Committee; however, the bill voted out of committee was a substituted version of HB 1131 that was substantially different than the original bill. The bill no longer dealt with just abortion complication reporting. Instead, the bill became similar to HB 1750, which was a more dangerous abortion reporting bill that didn't received a committee vote. (See HB 1750 for details about the new version of this bill.) This was an attempt by anti-choice legislators to pass intrusive, unnecessary abortion reporting requirements that could provide a roadmap to future anti-choice restrictions.
UPDATE: On April 25, HB 1131 was voted favorably from the House State Affairs Committee; however, the bill voted out of committee was a substituted version of HB 1131 that was substantially different than the original bill. The bill no longer dealt with just abortion complication reporting. Instead, the bill became similar to HB 1750, which was a more dangerous abortion reporting bill that didn't received a committee vote. (See HB 1750 for details about the new version of this bill.) This was an attempt by anti-choice legislators to pass intrusive, unnecessary abortion reporting requirements that could provide a roadmap to future anti-choice restrictions.
Recorded Votes: 4/25/07 - House State Affairs Committee (Passed 7-2). PPNT opposed this bill. For (Anti-Choice) Against (Pro-Choice) Rep. Paxton, Ken (R-McKinney) Rep. Veasey, Marc (D-Fort Worth) Rep. Cook, Byron (R-Corsicana) Rep. Flynn, Dan (R-Van) Rep. Parker, Tan (R-Flower Mound)
