(a) The purpose of this section is to implement the monthly abortion reporting requirements under Health and Safety Code (HSC) §245.011 for physicians who perform or induce one or more abortions during the preceding calendar month. A report must be submitted for each abortion performed or induced.
(b) The report may not identify by any means the patient.
(c) The report must include:
  (1) whether the abortion facility at which the abortion is performed is licensed under this chapter;
  (2) the patient's year of birth, race, marital status, and state and county of residence;
  (3) the type of abortion procedure;
  (4) the date the abortion was performed;
  (5) whether the patient survived the abortion, and if the patient did not survive, the cause of death;
  (6) the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child based on the best medical judgment of the attending physician at the time of the procedure;
  (7) the date, if known, of the patient's last menstrual cycle;
  (8) the number of previous live births of the patient;
  (9) the number of previous induced abortions of the patient;
  (10) whether the patient viewed the printed material provided under Health and Safety Code Chapter 171;
  (11) whether the sonogram image, verbal explanation of the image, and the audio of the heart sounds were made available to the patient;
  (12) whether the patient completed the "Abortion and Sonogram" election form;
  (13) the method used to dispose of embryonic and fetal tissue remains;
  (14) if the patient is younger than 18 years of age, as documented in the patient's medical record, whether authorization for the abortion was obtained by:
    (A) written consent of the patient's parent, managing conservator, or legal guardian under Occupations Code §164.052(a)(19) and whether the consent was given:
      (i) in person at the location where the abortion was performed; or
      (ii) at a place other than the location where the abortion was performed;
    (B) judicial authorization under Family Code §33.003 or §33.004 and:
      (i) if applicable, the process the physician or physician's agent used to inform the patient of the availability of petitioning for judicial authorization as an alternative to the written consent required by Occupations Code §164.052(a)(19);
      (ii) whether the court forms were provided to the patient by the physician or the physician's agent;
      (iii) whether the physician or the physician's agent made arrangements for the patient's court appearance; and
      (iv) if known, whether the patient became pregnant while in foster care or in the managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services;
    (C) consent of the patient because the patient had the disabilities of minority removed; or
    (D) the physician's conclusion, documented in the patient's medical record, that on the basis of the physician's good-faith clinical judgment:
      (i) a condition existed that complicated the medical condition of the patient and necessitated the immediate abortion to avert the patient's death or to avoid a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function; and
      (ii) there was insufficient time to obtain the consent of the patient's parent, managing conservator, or legal guardian;
  (15) the method of pregnancy verification;
  (16) the type of anesthesia, if any, used in the procedure: intravenous sedation or general anesthesia;
  (17) whether the abortion was performed or induced because of a medical emergency and any medical condition of the pregnant woman that required the abortion;
  (18) if the abortion was performed or induced because of a medical emergency:
    (A) certification that the abortion was necessary due to a medical emergency; and
    (B) the woman's medical condition requiring the abortion;
  (19) if the abortion was performed or induced to preserve the health of the pregnant woman:
    (A) the medical condition the abortion was asserted to address; and
    (B) the medical rationale for the physician's conclusion that the abortion was necessary to address the medical condition; and
  (20) for an abortion other than an abortion described by subparagraph (19) of this subsection, that maternal health was not a purpose of the abortion.
(d) Except as provided by HSC §245.023, all information and records held by HHSC under this chapter are confidential and are not open records for the purposes of Government Code Chapter 552. That information may not be released or made public on subpoena, or otherwise, except that release may be made:
  (1) for statistical purposes, but only if a person, patient, physician performing or inducing an abortion, the county in which a minor obtained judicial authorization for an abortion under Family Code Chapter 33, or abortion facility is not identified;
  (2) with the consent of each person, patient, physician, and abortion facility identified in the information released;
  (3) to medical personnel, appropriate state agencies, or county and district courts to enforce this chapter;
  (4) to appropriate state licensing boards to enforce state licensing laws; or
  (5) to licensed medical or health care personnel currently treating the patient.
(e) The reporting period for each physician is the preceding calendar month in which the physician performed or induced one or more abortions. Each physician who performs or induces one or more abortions shall submit the abortion report(s) to HHSC no later than the 15th day of the subsequent month.
(f) The abortion reports shall be submitted via the secure electronic reporting system established and maintained by HHSC.
(g) Not later than the seventh day after the date the report required by this section is due, HHSC shall notify the Texas Medical Board of a violation of this section.
(h) HHSC shall publish on its Internet website a monthly report containing aggregate data of the information in the reports submitted under this section. HHSC's monthly report may not identify by any means an abortion facility, a physician performing or inducing an abortion, the county in which a minor obtained judicial authorization for an abortion under Family Code Chapter 33, or a patient.

Source Note: The provisions of this §139.4 adopted to be effective June 28, 2009, 34 TexReg 4125; amended to be effective December 31, 2012, 37 TexReg 9938; amended to be effective January 1, 2014, 38 TexReg 9577; amended to be effective May 31, 2018, 43 TexReg 3361; amended to be effective November 24, 2022, 47 TexReg 7696