{"data":{"id":"us-tx/tex.-health-and-safety-code-172.002","jurisdiction":"us-tx","citation":"Tex. Health and Safety Code § 172.002","heading":"REMOVAL OF PLACENTA FROM HOSPITAL OR BIRTHING CENTER.","body":"(a) Except for the portion of a delivered placenta that is necessary for an examination described by Subsection (d), a hospital or birthing center without a court order shall allow a woman who has given birth in the facility, or a spouse of the woman if the woman is incapacitated or deceased, to take possession of and remove from the facility the placenta if:\n(1) the woman tests negative for infectious diseases as evidenced by the results of the diagnostic testing required by Section 81.090; and\n(2) the person taking possession of the placenta signs a form prescribed by the department acknowledging that:\n(A) the person has received from the hospital or birthing center educational information prescribed by the department concerning the spread of blood-borne diseases from placentas, the danger of ingesting formalin, and the proper handling of placentas; and\n(B) the placenta is for personal use.\n(b) A person removing a placenta from a hospital or birthing center under this section may only retain the placenta for personal use and may not sell the placenta.\n(c) A hospital or birthing center shall retain a signed form received under Subsection (a) with the woman's medical records.\n(d) This section does not prohibit a pathological examination of the delivered placenta that is ordered by a physician or required by a policy of the hospital or birthing center.\n(e) This section does not authorize a woman or the woman's spouse to interfere with a pathological examination of the delivered placenta that is ordered by a physician or required by a policy of the hospital or birthing center.\n(f) A hospital or birthing center that allows a person to take possession of and remove from the facility a delivered placenta in compliance with this section is not required to dispose of the placenta as medical waste.\n(g) A hospital or birthing center that acts in accordance with this section is not liable for the act in a civil action, a criminal prosecution, or an administrative proceeding.\nAdded by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 740 (H.B. 1670), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2015.","path":["HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE","TITLE 2. HEALTH","SUBTITLE H. PUBLIC HEALTH PROVISIONS","CHAPTER 172. REMOVAL OF PLACENTA FROM HOSPITAL OR BIRTHING CENTER"],"source_url":"https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.172.htm#172.002","current_through":"89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T01:47:17Z","sha256":"2ebccfdb2d86717fa6924498ebb5cddbcf487c444a74975aa7387a96af486543","source_id":"us-tx","stale":false,"prev":"us-tx/tex.-health-and-safety-code-172.001","next":"us-tx/tex.-health-and-safety-code-172.003"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}