| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
Relating to required counseling before an abortion is performed.
According to the Legislative Budget Board, a negative impact of ($1,920,852) through the biennium ending August 31, 2021.
SB 2243 would require a physician who is to perform an abortion, in addition to informed consent requirements, to certify using a unique identification number that the pregnant woman received pre-abortion counseling at no cost to the pregnant women from a third-party counselor. The counselor must provide the pregnant woman: (1) medically accurate information; (2) an assessment of and offer of assistance in obtaining support services other than abortion that the pregnant woman may need or be eligible for (including housing, employment, resume development, child care, medical care, adoption services, and health benefit plan coverage); (3) education on available state and local resources to address the pregnant woman's socioeconomic needs; and (4) screening for family violence, coercion of abortion, and human trafficking. The counselor would be required to submit a de-identified demographic report to the Health and Human Services Commission in determining the supply and demand of social services in the pregnant woman's geographic region.
Since this is primarily a social issue, Texas Action has a neutral stance towards SB 2243.