Abortion - What the Law Requires the Doctor to Tell You

  What the law requires a doctor to tell you when abortion is elected in the State of Texas.

•   The physician’s name.
• The particular medical risks associated with the particular abortion procedure to be employed, including:
•  The risks of infection and hemorrhage
• The potential danger to a subsequent pregnancy and of infertility
• 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
•  The probable gestational age of the unborn baby at the time the abortion is to be performed.
• The medical risks associated with carrying the baby to term.
• Medical assistance benefits may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care.
• The father is liable for assistance in the support of the baby without regard to whether the father has offered to pay for the abortion.
• 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 and incest.
• Provides the pregnancy woman with “Women’s Right to Know” pamphlet.
• Describe the unborn baby and list agencies that offer alternatives to abortion.
• Include a list of agencies that offer sonogram services at no cost to the pregnant woman.
• The physician who is to perform the abortion displays the sonogram images clearly in a quality consistent with current medical practice in a manner that the pregnant woman may view them.
• The physician who is to perform the abortion provides an understandable verbal explanation  of the results of the sonogram images, including a medical description of the dimensions of the baby, the presence of a heartbeat (no heartbeat, no need for an abortion), and the presence of external members and internal organs.

Taken from Texas Bill  HB15