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SB 857, 63rd R.S.
Relating to the protection of the health and life of pregnant women and of the right to life of unborn children; providing for prohibition of abortions except by a physician licensed to practice medicine for saving the life of the mother when there exists a reasonable medical certainty that continuation of pregnancy will result in the death of the mother in governmental hospitals, in hospitals which receive any tax exemption or governmental financial assistance, or in hospitals incorporate under the laws of the State of Texas or of another state; requiring informed consent to abortions by the pregnant woman, her parents or guardian in the case of an unmarried minor, and of the husband or father of the unborn child; prohibiting discrimination against or coercion of a person receiving governmental financial assistance for not consenting to an abortion; permitting any hospital to refuse to allow any abortion; permitting any person because of conscience or religious beliefs to refuse to perform or assist in any abortion; prohibiting governmental employees and social service agencies receiving governmental assistance from requiring or recommending that any woman have an abortion except a recommendation of a permissible abortion; prohibiting saline abortions altogether and hysterectomy form of abortion unless the fullest effort is made to save the life of the aborted child; making any child which is live born following an abortion a ward of the State of Texas; fully recognized as as a human person under the law of this State, and divesting its parents of any parental rights in such child; prohibiting certain types of abortions; prohibiting any use of transfer of any child who has been aborted or live born for any kind of experimentation or study; requiring physicians to file specified information in a report of abortions performed by them; requiring any person performing an abortion resulting in a live born child to take all reasonable steps to save the life and health of that child and subjecting violators to the Texas law of homicide and civil liability for wrongful death and medical malpractice; providing certain criminal penalties, civil causes of action, and civil sanctions, including revocation of tax exemptions, governmental financial assistance, and of corporate charters or permits to do business as corporations for violations of the Act; and declaring an emergency.

House and Senate Journals

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Scanned House and Senate Journals from the 63rd R.S. are available online.

Recordings

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Digitized copies of some of the House recordings for the 63rd R.S. are available from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Digitized copies of the Senate recordings for the 63rd R.S. are available from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Recordings may be ordered through the mail or obtained in person at the House or Senate media offices:

House Tapes, 63rd Legislature (1973) - present
John H. Reagan Building, Room 330
105 West 15th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 463-0920
(512) 463-5729 Fax
*Requests must be in writing and paid in advance. View a sample request form.

Senate Tapes
Legislative Reference Library
1100 N. Congress Ave. Room 2N.3
Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 463-1252
NOTE: Due to preservation concerns for the original cassette tapes, patrons are no longer able to listen to the original tapes. Digitized copies of the Senate recordings are available from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.


Transcripts

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Other helpful documents

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Legislative Reports

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State agency reports

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