Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB792 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	118THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 792
5	5	To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit taking minors across
6	6	State lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents
7	7	in abortion decisions.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	FEBRUARY2, 2023
10	10	Mr. J
11	11	OHNSONof Louisiana (for himself, Mr. BABIN, Mr. CLYDE, Mr. GAETZ,
12	12	Mr. D
13	13	UNCAN, Mrs. MILLERof Illinois, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. BISHOPof
14	14	North Carolina, Mr. L
15	15	AMALFA, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. SMITHof New Jersey,
16	16	Mr. A
17	17	DERHOLT, Mr. ESTES, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. WEBERof Texas, Mr.
18	18	K
19	19	ELLYof Mississippi, and Mr. LAMBORN) introduced the following bill;
20	20	which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
21	21	A BILL
22	22	To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit taking
23	23	minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requir-
24	24	ing the involvement of parents in abortion decisions.
25	25	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
26	26	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
27	27	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
28	28	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Interstate Abor-4
29	29	tion Notification Act’’. 5
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32	32	•HR 792 IH
33	33	SEC. 2. TRANSPORTATION OF MINORS IN CIRCUMVENTION 1
34	34	OF CERTAIN LAWS RELATING TO ABORTION. 2
35	35	Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 3
36	36	after chapter 117 the following: 4
37	37	‘‘CHAPTER 117A—TRANSPORTATION OF 5
38	38	MINORS IN CIRCUMVENTION OF CER-6
39	39	TAIN LAWS RELATING TO ABORTION 7
40	40	‘‘Sec.
41	41	‘‘2431. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws relating to
42	42	abortion.
43	43	‘‘2432. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws relating to
44	44	abortion.
45	45	‘‘§ 2431. Transportation of minors in circumvention of 8
46	46	certain laws relating to abortion 9
47	47	‘‘(a) O
48	48	FFENSE.— 10
49	49	‘‘(1) G
50	50	ENERALLY.—Except as provided in sub-11
51	51	section (b), whoever knowingly transports a minor 12
52	52	across a State line, with the intent that such minor 13
53	53	obtain an abortion, and thereby in fact abridges the 14
54	54	right of a parent under a law requiring parental in-15
55	55	volvement in a minor’s abortion decision, in force in 16
56	56	the State where the minor resides, shall be fined 17
57	57	under this title or imprisoned not more than one 18
58	58	year, or both. 19
59	59	‘‘(2) D
60	60	EFINITION.—For the purposes of this 20
61	61	subsection, an abridgement of the right of a parent 21
62	62	occurs if an abortion is performed or induced on the 22
63	63	minor, in a State or a foreign nation other than the 23
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67	67	State where the minor resides, without the parental 1
68	68	consent or notification, or the judicial authorization, 2
69	69	that would have been required by that law had the 3
70	70	abortion been performed in the State where the 4
71	71	minor resides. 5
72	72	‘‘(b) E
73	73	XCEPTIONS.— 6
74	74	‘‘(1) The prohibition of subsection (a) does not 7
75	75	apply if the abortion was necessary to save the life 8
76	76	of the minor because her life was endangered by a 9
77	77	physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, 10
78	78	including a life endangering physical condition 11
79	79	caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. 12
80	80	‘‘(2) A minor transported in violation of this 13
81	81	section, and any parent of that minor, may not be 14
82	82	prosecuted or sued for a violation of this section, a 15
83	83	conspiracy to violate this section, or an offense 16
84	84	under section 2 or 3 of this title based on a violation 17
85	85	of this section. 18
86	86	‘‘(c) A
87	87	FFIRMATIVEDEFENSE.—It is an affirmative 19
88	88	defense to a prosecution for an offense, or to a civil action, 20
89	89	based on a violation of this section that the defendant— 21
90	90	‘‘(1) reasonably believed, based on information 22
91	91	the defendant obtained directly from a parent of the 23
92	92	minor, that before the minor obtained the abortion, 24
93	93	the parental consent or notification took place that 25
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97	97	would have been required by the law requiring pa-1
98	98	rental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, 2
99	99	had the abortion been performed in the State where 3
100	100	the minor resides; or 4
101	101	‘‘(2) was presented with documentation showing 5
102	102	with a reasonable degree of certainty that a court in 6
103	103	the minor’s State of residence waived any parental 7
104	104	notification required by the laws of that State, or 8
105	105	otherwise authorized that the minor be allowed to 9
106	106	procure an abortion. 10
107	107	‘‘(d) C
108	108	IVILACTION.—Any parent who suffers harm 11
109	109	from a violation of subsection (a) may obtain appropriate 12
110	110	relief in a civil action unless the parent has committed 13
111	111	an act of incest with the minor subject to subsection (a). 14
112	112	‘‘(e) D
113	113	EFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec-15
114	114	tion— 16
115	115	‘‘(1) the term ‘abortion’ means the use or pre-17
116	116	scription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any 18
117	117	other substance or device— 19
118	118	‘‘(A) to intentionally kill the unborn child 20
119	119	of a woman known to be pregnant; or 21
120	120	‘‘(B) to intentionally prematurely termi-22
121	121	nate the pregnancy of a woman known to be 23
122	122	pregnant, with an intention other than to in-24
123	123	crease the probability of a live birth or of pre-25
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127	127	serving the life or health of the child after live 1
128	128	birth, or to remove a dead unborn child; 2
129	129	‘‘(2) the term ‘law requiring parental involve-3
130	130	ment in a minor’s abortion decision’ means a law— 4
131	131	‘‘(A) requiring, before an abortion is per-5
132	132	formed on a minor, either— 6
133	133	‘‘(i) the notification to, or consent of, 7
134	134	a parent of that minor; or 8
135	135	‘‘(ii) proceedings in a State court; and 9
136	136	‘‘(B) that does not provide as an alter-10
137	137	native to the requirements described in sub-11
138	138	paragraph (A) notification to or consent of any 12
139	139	person or entity who is not described in that 13
140	140	subparagraph; 14
141	141	‘‘(3) the term ‘minor’ means an individual who 15
142	142	is not older than the maximum age requiring paren-16
143	143	tal notification or consent, or proceedings in a State 17
144	144	court, under the law requiring parental involvement 18
145	145	in a minor’s abortion decision; 19
146	146	‘‘(4) the term ‘parent’ means— 20
147	147	‘‘(A) a parent or guardian; 21
148	148	‘‘(B) a legal custodian; or 22
149	149	‘‘(C) a person standing in loco parentis 23
150	150	who has care and control of the minor, and 24
151	151	with whom the minor regularly resides, who is 25
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154	154	•HR 792 IH
155	155	designated by the law requiring parental in-1
156	156	volvement in the minor’s abortion decision as a 2
157	157	person to whom notification, or from whom con-3
158	158	sent, is required; and 4
159	159	‘‘(5) the term ‘State’ includes the District of 5
160	160	Columbia and any commonwealth, possession, or 6
161	161	other territory of the United States, and any Indian 7
162	162	tribe or reservation. 8
163	163	‘‘§ 2432. Transportation of minors in circumvention of 9
164	164	certain laws relating to abortion 10
165	165	‘‘Notwithstanding section 2431(b)(2), whoever has 11
166	166	committed an act of incest with a minor and knowingly 12
167	167	transports the minor across a State line with the intent 13
168	168	that such minor obtain an abortion, shall be fined under 14
169	169	this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 15
170	170	For the purposes of this section, the terms ‘State’, ‘minor’, 16
171	171	and ‘abortion’ have, respectively, the definitions given 17
172	172	those terms in section 2435.’’. 18
173	173	SEC. 3. CHILD INTERSTATE ABORTION NOTIFICATION. 19
174	174	Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 20
175	175	after chapter 117A the following: 21
176	176	‘‘CHAPTER 117B—CHILD INTERSTATE 22
177	177	ABORTION NOTIFICATION 23
178	178	‘‘Sec.
179	179	‘‘2435. Child interstate abortion notification.
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183	183	‘‘§ 2435. Child interstate abortion notification 1
184	184	‘‘(a) O
185	185	FFENSE.— 2
186	186	‘‘(1) G
187	187	ENERALLY.—A physician who knowingly 3
188	188	performs or induces an abortion on a minor in viola-4
189	189	tion of the requirements of this section shall be fined 5
190	190	under this title or imprisoned not more than one 6
191	191	year, or both. 7
192	192	‘‘(2) P
193	193	ARENTAL NOTIFICATION .—A physician 8
194	194	who performs or induces an abortion on a minor 9
195	195	who is a resident of a State other than the State in 10
196	196	which the abortion is performed must provide, or 11
197	197	cause his or her agent to provide, at least 24 hours 12
198	198	actual notice to a parent of the minor before per-13
199	199	forming the abortion. If actual notice to such parent 14
200	200	is not accomplished after a reasonable effort has 15
201	201	been made, at least 24 hours constructive notice 16
202	202	must be given to a parent before the abortion is per-17
203	203	formed. 18
204	204	‘‘(b) E
205	205	XCEPTIONS.—The notification requirement of 19
206	206	subsection (a)(2) does not apply if— 20
207	207	‘‘(1) the abortion is performed or induced in a 21
208	208	State that has, in force, a law requiring parental in-22
209	209	volvement in a minor’s abortion decision and the 23
210	210	physician complies with the requirements of that 24
211	211	law; 25
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215	215	‘‘(2) the physician is presented with documenta-1
216	216	tion showing with a reasonable degree of certainty 2
217	217	that a court in the minor’s State of residence has 3
218	218	waived any parental notification required by the laws 4
219	219	of that State, or has otherwise authorized that the 5
220	220	minor be allowed to procure an abortion; 6
221	221	‘‘(3) the minor declares in a signed written 7
222	222	statement that she is the victim of sexual abuse, ne-8
223	223	glect, or physical abuse by a parent, and, before an 9
224	224	abortion is performed on the minor, the physician 10
225	225	notifies the authorities specified to receive reports of 11
226	226	child abuse or neglect by the law of the State in 12
227	227	which the minor resides of the known or suspected 13
228	228	abuse or neglect; 14
229	229	‘‘(4) the abortion is necessary to save the life 15
230	230	of the minor because her life was endangered by a 16
231	231	physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, 17
232	232	including a life endangering physical condition 18
233	233	caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, but 19
234	234	an exception under this paragraph does not apply 20
235	235	unless the attending physician or an agent of such 21
236	236	physician, within 24 hours after completion of the 22
237	237	abortion, notifies a parent in writing that an abor-23
238	238	tion was performed on the minor and of the cir-24
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241	241	•HR 792 IH
242	242	cumstances that warranted invocation of this para-1
243	243	graph; or 2
244	244	‘‘(5) the minor is physically accompanied by a 3
245	245	person who presents the physician or his agent with 4
246	246	documentation showing with a reasonable degree of 5
247	247	certainty that he or she is in fact the parent of that 6
248	248	minor. 7
249	249	‘‘(c) C
250	250	IVILACTION.—Any parent who suffers harm 8
251	251	from a violation of subsection (a) may obtain appropriate 9
252	252	relief in a civil action unless the parent has committed 10
253	253	an act of incest with the minor subject to subsection (a). 11
254	254	‘‘(d) D
255	255	EFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec-12
256	256	tion— 13
257	257	‘‘(1) the term ‘abortion’ means the use or pre-14
258	258	scription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any 15
259	259	other substance or device— 16
260	260	‘‘(A) to intentionally kill the unborn child 17
261	261	of a woman known to be pregnant; or 18
262	262	‘‘(B) to intentionally prematurely termi-19
263	263	nate the pregnancy of a woman known to be 20
264	264	pregnant, with an intention other than to in-21
265	265	crease the probability of a live birth or of pre-22
266	266	serving the life or health of the child after live 23
267	267	birth, or to remove a dead unborn child; 24
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271	271	‘‘(2) the term ‘actual notice’ means the giving 1
272	272	of written notice directly, in person, by the physician 2
273	273	or any agent of the physician; 3
274	274	‘‘(3) the term ‘constructive notice’ means notice 4
275	275	that is given by certified mail, return receipt re-5
276	276	quested, restricted delivery to the last known ad-6
277	277	dress of the person being notified, with delivery 7
278	278	deemed to have occurred 48 hours following noon on 8
279	279	the next day subsequent to mailing on which regular 9
280	280	mail delivery takes place, days on which mail is not 10
281	281	delivered excluded; 11
282	282	‘‘(4) the term ‘law requiring parental involve-12
283	283	ment in a minor’s abortion decision’ means a law— 13
284	284	‘‘(A) requiring, before an abortion is per-14
285	285	formed on a minor, either— 15
286	286	‘‘(i) the notification to, or consent of, 16
287	287	a parent of that minor; or 17
288	288	‘‘(ii) proceedings in a State court; and 18
289	289	‘‘(B) that does not provide as an alter-19
290	290	native to the requirements described in sub-20
291	291	paragraph (A) notification to or consent of any 21
292	292	person or entity who is not described in that 22
293	293	subparagraph; 23
294	294	‘‘(5) the term ‘minor’ means an individual who 24
295	295	has not attained the age of 18 years and who is not 25
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299	299	emancipated under the law of the State in which the 1
300	300	minor resides; 2
301	301	‘‘(6) the term ‘parent’ means— 3
302	302	‘‘(A) a parent or guardian; 4
303	303	‘‘(B) a legal custodian; or 5
304	304	‘‘(C) a person standing in loco parentis 6
305	305	who has care and control of the minor, and 7
306	306	with whom the minor regularly resides, 8
307	307	as determined by State law; 9
308	308	‘‘(7) the term ‘physician’ means a doctor of 10
309	309	medicine legally authorized to practice medicine by 11
310	310	the State in which such doctor practices medicine, or 12
311	311	any other person legally empowered under State law 13
312	312	to perform an abortion; and 14
313	313	‘‘(8) the term ‘State’ includes the District of 15
314	314	Columbia and any commonwealth, possession, or 16
315	315	other territory of the United States, and any Indian 17
316	316	tribe or reservation.’’. 18
317	317	SEC. 4. CLERICAL AMENDMENT. 19
318	318	The table of chapters at the beginning of part I of 20
319	319	title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 21
320	320	the item relating to chapter 117 the following new items: 22
321	321	‘‘117A. Transportation of minors in circumvention of
322	322	certain laws relating to abortion....................2431
323	323	‘‘117B. Child interstate abortion notification........................2435’’.
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327	327	SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE. 1
328	328	(a) The provisions of this Act shall be severable. If 2
329	329	any provision of this Act, or any application thereof, is 3
330	330	found unconstitutional, that finding shall not affect any 4
331	331	provision or application of the Act not so adjudicated. 5
332	332	(b) This Act and the amendments made by this Act 6
333	333	shall take effect 45 days after the date of enactment of 7
334	334	this Act. 8
335	335	Æ
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