'Returns True if this xblock has an existing published version regardless of whether the
published version is up to date.'

def has_published_version(self, xblock):

    if getattr(xblock, 'is_draft', False):
        published_xblock_location = as_published(xblock.location)
        try:
            xblock.runtime.lookup_item(published_xblock_location)
        except ItemNotFoundError:
            return False
    return True
