In this subchapter:
- (1) "Fetal heartbeat" means cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac.
- (2) "Gestational age" means the amount of time that has elapsed from the first day of a woman's last menstrual period.
- (3) "Gestational sac" means the structure comprising the extraembryonic membranes that envelop the unborn child and that is typically visible by ultrasound after the fourth week of pregnancy.
- (4) "Physician" means an individual licensed to practice medicine in this state, including a medical doctor and a doctor of osteopathic medicine.
(5) "Pregnancy" means the human female reproductive condition that:
- (A) begins with fertilization;
- (B) occurs when the woman is carrying the developing human offspring; and
- (C) is calculated from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period.
- (6) "Standard medical practice" means the degree of skill, care, and diligence that an obstetrician of ordinary judgment, learning, and skill would employ in like circumstances.
- (7) "Unborn child" means a human fetus or embryo in any stage of gestation from fertilization until birth.
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 62 (S.B. 8), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2021.