Senate OKs bill to protect doctors who don't tell women about fetal disabilities
AUSTIN — The Texas Senate on Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would ban parents from suing a doctor who doesn't tell them their baby has a disability or counsel them on their options, including abortion.
Sen. Brandon Creighton, the bill's author, revised the legislation after numerous media reports said a bill to ban "wrongful birth" lawsuits would allow doctors to lie to their patients. The new language doesn't relieve doctors of their duties under "any other applicable law."
Creighton, R-Conroe, told lawmakers Monday that existing laws protect parents from doctors who fail to tell them the truth, so they could file negligence or malpractice claims instead.
"This in no way allows them to get out from under their current duty or standard of care," he said. "They fall under all applicable laws that are currently on the books for any bad-actor scenario."
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/03/20/senate-oks-bill-protect-doctors-tell-womenabout-fetal-disabilities
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