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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Bill 384
Sponsored by Senator THATCHER; Senators BONHAM, WEBER, Representatives LEVY B, RESCHKE (Presession
filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The Act tells doctors to provide a child born alive with a level of care based on the
child’s gestational age, even if the child was born after an attempt to abort the child. (Flesch
Readability Score: 60.3).
Requires health care practitioners to exercise the proper degree of care to preserve the health
and life of a child born alive after an abortion or attempted abortion. Requires a health care prac-
titioner to ensure that a child born alive is transported to a hospital. Creates a crime for failure to
exercise proper standard of care, punishable by a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, $125,000
fine, or both.
Allows a specified person to bring a civil action for damages and equitable relief against a
health care practitioner for failure to exercise the proper degree of care. Directs the court to award
attorney fees to a prevailing plaintiff. Allows the court to order identity or personally identifiable
information of plaintiff protected from disclosure.
Defines “individual” for purposes of statute laws of this state to include an infant born alive.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to abortion; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 174.100.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. Sections 1 to 7 of this 2025 Act shall be known and may be cited as the
Born-Alive Infants Protection Act.
SECTION 2.As used in sections 1 to 7 of this 2025 Act:
(1) “Abortion” means the use or prescription of a drug, medicine, instrument or other
substance or device in order to:
(a) Intentionally kill the unborn child of a pregnant person; or
(b) Terminate a person’s pregnancy with a purpose other than:
(A) After viability, to produce a live birth and preserve the life and health of the child;
or
(B) To remove a dead unborn child.
(2) “Born alive” means the complete expulsion or extraction of a child from a person at
any stage of the child’s development and after the expulsion or extraction, the child is
breathing or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of
voluntary muscles, whether the umbilical cord has been severed or not. Expulsion or ex-
traction may occur by natural or induced labor, cesarean section or induced abortion.
(3) “Health care practitioner” means a person who is authorized by a health professional
regulatory agency in this state to engage in the practice of a health care discipline.
SECTION 3. (1) When an abortion or attempted abortion results in a child born alive, any
health care practitioner who is 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 that a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 2482 SB384
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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 paragraph (a) of this
subsection, if the child was not born alive in a hospital, ensure that the child born alive is
immediately transported and admitted to a hospital. If the child was born alive at a hospital,
the health care practitioner shall continue to exercise the skill, care and diligence required
under paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(2) A health care practitioner or an employee of a health care clinic where an abortion
or attempted abortion results in a child born alive and who has knowledge of a violation of
subsection (1) of this section shall immediately report the violation to a state law enforce-
mentagency.
SECTION 4. Nothing in sections 1 to 7 of this 2025 Act shall be construed to affirm, deny,
expand or limit any legal status or legal right of a member of the species Homo sapiens at
any point prior to being born alive.
SECTION 5.(1) A person who knowingly or recklessly violates section 3 (1) of this 2025
Act shall be guilty of the crime of failure to exercise proper standard of care.
(2) Failure to exercise proper standard of care is a Class C felony.
(3) The person whose pregnancy was terminated or attempted to be terminated may not
be prosecuted for a violation of section 3 (1) of this 2025 Act.
SECTION 6. (1) A person whose pregnancy was terminated or attempted to be terminated
may maintain a civil action against a person who knowingly or recklessly violates section 3
(1) of this 2025 Act for damages and equitable relief.
(2)(a) A court shall award attorney fees to a plaintiff who prevails in an action described
in subsection (1) of this section.
(b) A court shall award attorney fees to a defendant against whom an action described
in subsection (1) of this section is brought if the action is not successful and the court de-
termines that the action is frivolous or was brought in bad faith.
(3) A civil action for violation of section 3 (1) of this 2025 Act may not be maintained
against a person whose pregnancy was terminated or attempted to be terminated.
SECTION 7.(1) In an action brought under section 6 of this 2025 Act, the court shall rule,
either by the court’s own motion or that of a party, whether the identity or any personally
identifiable information of the plaintiff should be exempt from disclosure, unless the plaintiff
consents in a signed writing to the disclosure of the plaintiff’s identity or personally iden-
tifiableinformation.
(2) If the court determines, under subsection (1) of this section, that the plaintiff’s
identity or any personally identifiable information of the plaintiff should be exempt from
disclosure, the court shall issue orders to the parties, witnesses and counsel regarding the
protection from disclosure and shall direct that the court record be sealed and that the
proceedings be closed to the public to the extent necessary to protect from disclosure the
plaintiff’s identity or personally identifiable information.
(3) An order issued under this section must include written findings explaining:
(a) Why the plaintiff’s identity or personally identifiable information should be protected
from disclosure;
(b) Why the order is necessary to protect the plaintiff’s identity or personally identifiable
information from disclosure;
(c) How the order is narrowly tailored to achieve protection from disclosure; and
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(d) Why no reasonable less restrictive alternative means exist to ensure protection from
disclosure.
(4) This section may not be construed to prevent the disclosure of the identity of the
plaintiff or of witnesses to the defendant or defendant’s counsel.
SECTION 8. ORS 174.100 is amended to read:
174.100. As used in the statute laws of this state, unless the context or a specially applicable
definition requires otherwise:
(1) “Any other state” includes any state and the District of Columbia.
(2) “City” includes any incorporated village or town.
(3) “County court” includes board of county commissioners.
(4) “Gender identity” means an individual’s gender-related identity, appearance, expression or
behavior, regardless of whether the identity, appearance, expression or behavior differs from that
associated with the gender assigned to the individual at birth.
(5) “Husband and wife,” “husband or wife,” “husband” or “wife” means spouses or a spouse in
a marriage.
(6) “Individual” includes an infant member of the species Homo sapiens who is born alive,
as described in section 2 of this 2025 Act, at any stage of the member’s development.
[(6)] (7) “May not” and “shall not” are equivalent expressions of an absolute prohibition.
[(7)] (8) “Person” includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited li-
ability companies and joint stock companies.
[(8)] (9) “Sexual orientation” means an individual’s actual or perceived heterosexuality,
homosexuality or bisexuality.
[(9)] (10) “State Treasury” includes those financial assets the lawful custody of which are vested
in the State Treasurer and the office of the State Treasurer relating to the custody of those financial
assets.
[(10)] (11) “To” means “to and including” when used in a reference to a series of statute
sections, subsections or paragraphs.
[(11)] (12) “United States” includes territories, outlying possessions and the District of Columbia.
[(12)] (13) “Violate” includes failure to comply.
SECTION 9. Sections 1 to 7 of this 2025 Act and the amendments to ORS 174.100 by sec-
tion 8 of this 2025 Act apply to abortions performed or attempted on or after the effective
date of this 2025 Act.
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