Senator Rodríguez statement on burdensome new women’s health regulations

Austin — Today, state Senator José Rodríguez delivered a letter to the members of the Department of State Health Service’s (DSHS) State Health Services Council requesting they delay recommending proposed rule changes concerning the regulation of abortion facilities and providers. The recommended rule would add burdensome regulations to facilities and medical practitioners.

“I urge Commissioner Suehs to make the right decision and not publish the rule as proposed,” said Senator Rodríguez. “The proposed measures were considered during the 80th and 82nd Legislative Sessions and did not pass.

“These rules are being pushed by the bills’ author, State Representative Bill Zedler. We should not allow one member to subvert the will of the legislature and circumvent the democratic process in order to push his personal political, anti-choice agenda. If he is successful, there will be serious ramifications for years to come,” continued Rodriguez.

“I have serious concerns about a council comprised of political appointees recommending statewide policy changes that will have very serious implications for physicians and patients.

“As proposed, these changes place a considerable burden on physicians,” stated Rodríguez. “The requirement to report information irrelevant to the services being provided — including the patient’s level of education and how a minor obtained consent — is unnecessary and takes focus away from the delivery of care. Even more concerning is the requirement for physicians to report any ‘complications’ stemming from an abortion. There is no definition for what this means in statute or in the proposed rule.”

The text of Senator Rodríguez’s letter is as follows:

June 14, 2012

State Health Services Council
Department of State Health Services

Dear Council Members:

I write to you to register my concerns regarding Agenda Item 4e, Amendments to rules concerning the regulation of abortion facilities. Although I understand that many of the proposed changes are in accordance with House Bill 15 (the sonogram law) and an effort to consolidate rules involving regulation of facilities into one place in the code, there are several proposed changes that are of concern to me.

First and foremost, I have concerns as to whether the Department of State Health Services has adequate statutory authority to implement by rule policy changes that do not have the support of the majority of the Legislature. As you may be aware, these proposed changes were contained in legislation proposed by Representative Zedler. However, none of these measures passed the Legislature.

With regards to the proposed rule, it is not apparent what the policy objective or state interest is in requiring reporting of some of these parameters such as educational level of the patient or how a minor obtained consent; this information is irrelevant to the health of the patient.

Furthermore, I have grave concerns with the additional reporting requirement to be placed on physicians, especially as no definition of “complication” is provided within the proposed rule or elsewhere in existing statute.

I respectfully ask that, if possible, you delay any action on the proposed rule today in order to allow legislators adequate time to examine the proposed rule in more detail and to submit comments.

Sincerely,

José Rodríguez

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