AUSTIN – Today the Texas Senate voted 22-9 to require reporting of medical data resulting from complications due to abortions. Sponsored by Senator Donna Campbell, an emergency room physician, House Bill 13 requires that certain health care facilities report complications from abortions and for the Health and Human Services Commission to publish this data.
“Today we sent the Governor a bill that protects the health and safety of women by requiring accurate reporting of medical data,” said Sen. Campbell. “We can learn a lot about patient care and health issues related to abortions from collecting this data.”
The Texas Health and Safety Code currently requires health care facilities to report surgical site infections and complications from various procedures in order to track the standard of care. However, there are no current specific reporting requirements in statute for complications resulting from an abortion.
“I started working on this bill back in January, I had to lay it out four times on the Senate Floor, and it is a great victory to finally see it pass. I applaud my colleagues in the Senate for their strong support and hard work on this important pro-life bill,” Sen. Campbell stated.