DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute part of the law
or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 1081 Engrossed 2016 Regular Session Mike Johnson
Abstract: Enacts the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act to define and
prohibit dismemberment abortions.
Proposed law provides that "dismemberment abortion" means, with the purpose of causing the death
of an unborn child, to purposely dismember a living unborn child and extract him or her one piece
at a time from the uterus through use of clamps, grasping forceps, tongs, scissors, or a similar
instrument that, through the convergence of two rigid levers, slices, crushes, or grasps a portion of
the unborn child's body to cut or rip it off or apart. Stipulates that the term does not include an
abortion which uses suction to dismember the body of an unborn child by vacuuming fetal parts into
a collection container, although it does include an instance in which a dismemberment abortion is
used to cause the death of an unborn child and suction is subsequently used to extract fetal parts after
the death of the unborn child.
Proposed law provides that it shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally perform or attempt
to perform a dismemberment abortion and thereby kill an unborn child unless necessary to prevent
serious health risk to the unborn child's mother.
Proposed law stipulates that none of the following persons shall be liable for performing or
attempting to perform a dismemberment abortion:
(1)The woman upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted.
(2)A nurse, technician, secretary, receptionist, or other employee or agent who is not a physician
but who acts at the direction of a physician, and no pharmacist or other individual who is not
a physician but who fills a prescription or provides instruments or materials used in an
abortion at the direction of or to a physician.
Proposed law provides that whoever violates the provisions of proposed law shall be fined not more
than $1,000 per incidence or occurrence, or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
Provides that in addition to whatever remedies are otherwise available under present law, failure to
comply with the provisions of proposed law shall provide all of the following:
(1)A basis for a cause of action for civil damages for injuries and wrongful death as more fully
set forth in present law (C.C. Arts. 2315.1 and 2315.2), whether or not the unborn child was
viable at the time the abortion was performed, or was born alive, except that such causes of
action shall only be maintained by the following persons: (a)The natural or biological father of the aborted infant or fetus, unless such father's
criminal conduct caused the pregnancy.
(b)The mother of the aborted infant or fetus.
(c)The parents or guardian on behalf of the mother of the aborted infant or fetus if the
mother was a minor at the time of the abortion, unless the parents or guardian
consented to the dismemberment abortion.
(2)A basis for professional disciplinary action under present law relative to licensure of
physicians and regulation of the practice of medicine (R.S. 37:1261 et seq.).
Proposed law authorizes courts, when requested, to allow a woman to proceed in a cause of action
pursuant to proposed law using solely her initials or a pseudonym; and to close any proceedings in
the case and enter other protective orders to preserve the privacy of the woman upon whom the
abortion was performed.
Proposed law provides that any person who is not a physician or not otherwise legally authorized by
the state to perform abortions, but who nevertheless directly performs a dismemberment abortion,
shall be subject to the provisions of proposed law.
Proposed law provides that nothing therein shall be construed as creating or recognizing a right to
abortion, or a right to a particular method of abortion.
(Adds R.S. 40:1061.1.1)