Cain’s COVID-19 Consent Bill Bars Anyone From Penalizing Refusal

The text as introduced · 876 words

89R1127 JG-D

By: Cain
H.B. No. 943

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to informed consent before the provision of certain

medical treatments involving COVID-19 vaccination.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Texas COVID-19

Vaccine Freedom Act.

SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:

(1) this state is responsible for ensuring that

individuals lawfully residing in this state have the right to

provide or withhold consent for any medical treatment;

(2) the decision in Canterbury v. Spence , 464 F.2d 772

(D.C. Cir. 1972), establishing the concept of informed consent, has

become a bedrock principle of the laws of this country and of each

state;

(3) the American Medical Association's Code of Medical

Ethics Opinion 2.1.1 recognizes an individual's right to be fully

informed of a recommended medical treatment to allow the individual

to make an informed decision regarding the individual's course of

treatment, including whether to obtain or decline a particular

medical treatment;

(4) under 42 C.F.R. Section 482.13, a hospital is

required as a condition of participation in Medicare to have in

place a process for obtaining a patient's informed consent before

providing treatment to the patient and to ensure "[t]he patient or

his or her representative (as allowed under State law) has the right

to make informed decisions regarding his or her care";

(5) the United States Supreme Court upheld mandatory

vaccination policies imposed by state and local governments to

combat smallpox in Jacobson v. Massachusetts , 197 U.S. 11 (1905),

and acknowledged in PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins , 447 U.S.

74, 81 (1980), that a state may provide "individual liberties more

expansive than those conferred by the Federal Constitution";

(6) persons inside and outside this state have sought

or are seeking to compel or coerce individuals lawfully residing in

this state into being vaccinated against COVID-19 contrary to the

individuals' preferences;

(7) any attempt to compel or coerce an individual

lawfully residing in this state into being vaccinated against

COVID-19 contrary to the individual's preference is inconsistent

with the principles of informed consent; and

(8) Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as added

by this Act, prohibits any person from compelling or coercing an

individual lawfully residing in this state into obtaining medical

treatments involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 161, Health and Safety

Code, is amended by adding Section 161.0086 to read as follows:

Sec. 161.0086. INFORMED CONSENT REQUIRED FOR MEDICAL

TREATMENTS INVOLVING COVID-19 VACCINATION. (a) In this section:

(1) "COVID-19" means the 2019 novel coronavirus

disease.

(2) "Health care provider" means an individual

licensed or otherwise authorized by this state to administer

vaccines.

(b) A person may not compel or coerce an individual lawfully

residing in this state into obtaining a medical treatment involving

the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, including a COVID-19

vaccine approved or authorized by the United States Food and Drug

Administration, contrary to the individual's vaccination

preference.

(c) A health care provider may not provide to an individual

lawfully residing in this state a medical treatment involving the

administration of a COVID-19 vaccine, including a COVID-19 vaccine

approved or authorized by the United States Food and Drug

Administration, unless the provider obtains the individual's

informed consent before administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

(d) For purposes of this section, an individual lacks the

capacity to provide informed consent for a medical treatment

involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine if the

individual has been compelled or coerced into being vaccinated

against COVID-19 contrary to the individual's vaccination

preference.

(e) A person may not take an adverse action or impose a

penalty of any kind against an individual lawfully residing in this

state for the individual's refusal or failure to obtain a medical

treatment involving the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.

(f) The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive

relief against a person to prevent the person from violating this

section. In an injunction issued under this subsection, a court may

include reasonable requirements to prevent further violations of

this section.

(g) A health care provider who violates Subsection (c) is

liable to the individual who is the subject of the violation for

damages in an amount of not less than $5,000. In an action brought

under this subsection, a claimant may recover reasonable expenses

incurred in bringing the action, including court costs, reasonable

attorney's fees, investigation costs, witness fees, and deposition

expenses.

SECTION 4. Section 161.0086, Health and Safety Code, as

added by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after

the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 5. If any provision of this Act or its application

to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does

not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be

given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to

this end the provisions of this Act are declared severable.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.