119-hr21

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 21 Referred in Senate

    (RFS) ]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 21

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 24, 2025

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 AN ACT

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a health care 
practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the 
 case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Born-Alive Abortion Survivors 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress finds as follows:

    (1) If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, 
 the infant is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of 
 the United States, and entitled to all the protections of such 
 laws.

    (2) Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a 
 hospital, clinic, or other facility has the same claim to the 
 protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for 
 any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility 
 for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient 
 within its care.

    (b) Constitutional Authority.--In accordance with the above 
findings, Congress enacts the following pursuant to Congress' power 
under--

    (1) section 5 of the 14th Amendment, including the power to 
 enforce the prohibition on government action denying equal 
 protection of the laws; and

    (2) section 8 of article I to make all laws necessary and 
 proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by the 
 Constitution of the United States, including the power to 
 regulate commerce under clause 3 of such section.

SEC. 3. BORN-ALIVE INFANTS PROTECTION.

    (a) Requirements Pertaining to Born-Alive Abortion Survivors.--
Chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after 

section 1531 the following:
``

Sec. 1532. Requirements pertaining to born-alive abortion survivors
 ``

    (a) Requirements for Health Care Practitioners.--In the case of 
an abortion or attempted abortion that results in a child born alive 
(as defined in 

section 8 of title 1, United States Code (commonly known 
as the `Born-Alive Infants Protection Act')):
 ``

    (1) Degree of care required; immediate admission to a 
 hospital.--Any health care practitioner present at the time the 
 child is born alive shall--
 ``
        (A) exercise the same degree of professional 
 skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and 
 health of the child as a reasonably diligent and 
 conscientious health care practitioner would render to 
 any other child born alive at the same gestational age; 
 and
 ``
        (B) following the exercise of skill, care, and 
 diligence required under subparagraph
        (A) , ensure that 
 the child born alive is immediately transported and 
 admitted to a hospital.
 ``

    (2) Mandatory reporting of violations.--A health care 
 practitioner or any employee of a hospital, a physician's 
 office, or an abortion clinic who has knowledge of a failure to 
 comply with the requirements of paragraph

    (1) shall immediately 
 report the failure to an appropriate State or Federal law 
 enforcement agency, or to both.
 ``

    (b) Penalties.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Whoever violates subsection

    (a) shall be 
 fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, 
 or both.
 ``

    (2) Intentional killing of child born alive.--Whoever 
 intentionally performs or attempts to perform an overt act that 
 kills a child born alive described under subsection

    (a) , shall 
 be punished as under 

section 1111 of this title for 
 intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being.
 ``
            (c) Bar to Prosecution.--The mother of a child born alive 
described under subsection

    (a) may not be prosecuted under this 
section, for conspiracy to violate this section, or for an offense 
under 

section 3 or 4 of this title based on such a violation.
 ``
            (d) Civil Remedies.--
 ``

    (1) Civil action by a woman on whom an abortion is 
 performed.--If a child is born alive and there is a violation 
 of subsection

    (a) , the woman upon whom the abortion was 
 performed or attempted may, in a civil action against any 
 person who committed the violation, obtain appropriate relief.
 ``

    (2) Appropriate relief.--Appropriate relief in a civil 
 action under this subsection includes--
 ``
        (A) objectively verifiable money damage for all 
 injuries, psychological and physical, occasioned by the 
 violation of subsection

    (a) ;
 ``
        (B) statutory damages equal to 3 times the cost 
 of the abortion or attempted abortion; and
 ``
            (C) punitive damages.
 ``

    (3) Attorney's fee for plaintiff.--The court shall award 
 a reasonable attorney's fee to a prevailing plaintiff in a 
 civil action under this subsection.
 ``

    (4) Attorney's fee for defendant.--If a defendant in a 
 civil action under this subsection prevails and the court finds 
 that the plaintiff's suit was frivolous, the court shall award 
 a reasonable attorney's fee in favor of the defendant against 
 the plaintiff.
 ``

    (e) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section the following definitions 
apply:
 ``

    (1) Abortion.--The term `abortion' means the use or 
 prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other 
 substance or device--
 ``
        (A) to intentionally kill the unborn child of a 
 woman known to be pregnant; or
 ``
        (B) to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a 
 woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other 
 than--
 ``
            (i) after viability, to produce a live 
 birth and preserve the life and health of the 
 child born alive; or
 ``
            (ii) to remove a dead unborn child.
 ``

    (2) Attempt.--The term `attempt', with respect to an 
 abortion, means conduct that, under the circumstances as the 
 actor believes them to be, constitutes a substantial step in a 
 course of conduct planned to culminate in performing an 
 abortion.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 74 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
pertaining to 

section 1531 the following:

``1532. Requirements pertaining to born-alive abortion survivors.''.
            (c) Chapter Heading Amendments.--

    (1) Chapter heading in chapter.--The chapter heading for 
 chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
 striking ``Partial-Birth Abortions'' and inserting 
 ``Abortions''.

    (2) Table of chapters for part i.--The item relating to 
 chapter 74 in the table of chapters at the beginning of part I 
 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking 
 ``Partial-Birth Abortions'' and inserting ``Abortions''.

 Passed the House of Representatives January 23, 2025.

 Attest:

 KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

 Clerk.