Relating to information regarding perinatal palliative care; creating an administrative penalty, the official text

S.B. No. 1233

AN ACT

relating to information regarding perinatal palliative care;

creating an administrative penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Perinatal Palliative

Care Act.

SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:

(1) palliative care is a critical form of care

provided to alleviate the pain and suffering of individuals with

severe life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses or medical

conditions;

(2) in approximately two percent of pregnancies, the

unborn child is diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting

illness or medical condition that may result in the child's death

before or shortly after birth; and

(3) since the lives of unborn children are no longer

prematurely taken by abortion in this state, many of the children

described by Subdivision (2) of this section are born alive.

SECTION 3. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended

by adding Subchapter Z to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER Z. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE

Sec. 161.751. PURPOSE OF SUBCHAPTER. The purpose of this

subchapter is to ensure a pregnant woman whose unborn child is

diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness or

medical condition is informed of the availability of perinatal

palliative care.

Sec. 161.752. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Health care provider" has the meaning assigned by

Section 34.001.

(2) "Perinatal palliative care" means the provision of

comprehensive, supportive care to reduce the suffering of a woman

who is pregnant or delivers a child, her unborn child or infant, and

her family, from diagnosis of the unborn child's life-threatening

or life-limiting illness or medical condition through the duration

of the perinatal period and possible death as a result of the

illness or condition. The care may be provided concurrently with

methods of treatment or therapies that seek to cure or minimize the

effects of the illness or condition. The term:

(A) includes medical, social, and mental health

care, including counseling regarding treatment options, education,

informed consent, and expression of desires, and health care

provided by maternal-fetal medical specialists, obstetricians,

neonatologists, anesthesia specialists, specialty nurses, clergy,

social workers, and other individuals focused on alleviating fear

and pain and ensuring the woman, her unborn child or infant, and her

family experience a supportive environment; and

(B) does not include an act or omission intended

to cause or hasten an unborn child's death.

(3) "Perinatal period" means the period beginning at

conception and ending on an infant's first birthday.

Sec. 161.753. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE INFORMATIONAL

MATERIALS. (a) The commission, in collaboration with the

department and the Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Advisory

Council established under Chapter 118, shall develop perinatal

palliative care informational materials and post the materials on

the commission's Internet website. The materials must include:

(1) a description of the health care and other

services available through perinatal palliative care; and

(2) information about medical assistance benefits

that may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and perinatal

palliative care.

(b) The commission shall develop, regularly update, and

publish a geographically indexed list of perinatal palliative care

providers and programs in this state. The list must include the

name, physical address, and phone number of each provider or

program. The commission may include perinatal palliative care

providers and programs in other states that provide care to

residents of this state but may not include an abortion provider, as

defined by Section 171.002, or an affiliate, as defined by Section

2273.001, Government Code, of an abortion provider unless the

provider or affiliate performs abortions only during a medical

emergency as defined by Section 171.002.

(c) The commission shall post on the commission's Internet

website the list of perinatal palliative care providers and

programs, including the contact information, and note the providers

and programs that provide services free of charge.

Sec. 161.754. PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE CERTIFICATION

FORM. The commission, in collaboration with the department, shall

develop a form on which a pregnant woman certifies she received the

perinatal palliative care informational materials and list of the

perinatal palliative care providers and programs described by

Section 161.753.

Sec. 161.755. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER DUTIES ON DIAGNOSIS OF

UNBORN CHILD'S LIFE-THREATENING OR LIFE-LIMITING ILLNESS OR

MEDICAL CONDITION. A health care provider who diagnoses a pregnant

woman's unborn child as having a life-threatening or life-limiting

illness or medical condition shall, at the time of the diagnosis:

(1) provide the pregnant woman with a written copy of:

(A) the perinatal palliative care informational

materials and list of the perinatal palliative care providers and

programs described by Section 161.753; and

(B) the perinatal palliative care certification

form described by Section 161.754; and

(2) obtain from the pregnant woman the signed

perinatal palliative care certification form and place the form in

the pregnant woman's medical records.

Sec. 161.756. EXCEPTION. A health care provider is not

required to provide the perinatal palliative care informational

materials or perinatal palliative care certification form under

this subchapter if the health care provider verifies the pregnant

woman's medical record contains a signed perinatal palliative care

certification form for that pregnancy as required under Section

161.755(2).

Sec. 161.757. COMPLAINTS; DISCIPLINARY ACTION;

ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) If a health care provider fails to

provide to a pregnant woman the perinatal palliative care

informational materials as required by Section 161.755, the woman

may submit a complaint to the commission in the form and manner the

commission prescribes.

(b) A health care provider who violates Section 161.755 is

subject to disciplinary action by the state licensing agency that

regulates the provider. On determining the provider committed a

violation, the agency shall:

(1) for an initial violation, issue a written warning

to the provider; and

(2) for each subsequent violation, impose on the

provider an administrative penalty in the amount of $1,000.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1233 passed the Senate on

April 15, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1233 passed the House on

May 28, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 79, Nays 55, two

present not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

______________________________

Governor