Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB18 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	II
2	2	118THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION S. 18
5	5	To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination by abortion
6	6	against an unborn child on the basis of Down syndrome.
7	7	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8	8	JANUARY23 (legislative day, JANUARY3), 2023
9	9	Mr. D
10	10	AINES(for himself, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. RUBIO, Mr.
11	11	H
12	12	OEVEN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. SCOTTof Florida, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr.
13	13	R
14	14	ISCH, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. CRUZ, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr.
15	15	H
16	16	AGERTY, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. VANCE, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. COTTON, Mrs.
17	17	B
18	18	LACKBURN, Mr. THUNE, Mrs. BRITT, Mr. BOOZMAN, and Mr.
19	19	H
20	20	AWLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
21	21	to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL
22	22	To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit discrimi-
23	23	nation by abortion against an unborn child on the basis
24	24	of Down syndrome.
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 ‘‘Protecting Individuals 4
29	29	with Down Syndrome Act’’. 5
30	30	SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
31	31	Congress finds the following: 7
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35	35	(1) On June 24, 2022, the United States Su-1
36	36	preme Court issued a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson 2
37	37	Women’s Health Organization (No. 19–1392, 2022 3
38	38	WL 2276808 (2022)), which overturned its prior, 4
39	39	egregiously wrong holding in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 5
40	40	113 (1973)). 6
41	41	(2) Dobbs correctly affirmed that there is no 7
42	42	constitutional right to abort an unborn child and 8
43	43	that the Court’s prior decision in Roe was not based 9
44	44	in the Constitution’s text nor was it deeply rooted in 10
45	45	the history and tradition of the United States. 11
46	46	(3) Federal law protects individuals with dis-12
47	47	abilities against discrimination, including in the pro-13
48	48	vision of medical care. 14
49	49	(4) As Congress has previously affirmed, 15
50	50	‘‘[d]isability is a natural part of the human experi-16
51	51	ence and in no way diminishes the right of individ-17
52	52	uals to live independently, enjoy self-determination, 18
53	53	make choices, contribute to society, pursue meaning-19
54	54	ful careers, and enjoy full inclusion and integration 20
55	55	in the economic, political, social, and educational 21
56	56	mainstream of American society.’’. 22
57	57	(5) It is the policy of the United States to re-23
58	58	spect the lives and the dignity of individuals with 24
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62	62	disabilities, including individuals with Down syn-1
63	63	drome. 2
64	64	(6) Federal, State, and local government all 3
65	65	have a role to play in preventing discrimination 4
66	66	based on disability, including discrimination against 5
67	67	individuals with Down syndrome. 6
68	68	(7) Consistent with the overarching Federal 7
69	69	policy of nondiscrimination, and in light of the 8
70	70	shameful history of targeting unborn children for 9
71	71	abortion based on race, gender, or disabilities, Con-10
72	72	gress must combat invidious discrimination by pro-11
73	73	hibiting doctors from aborting unborn children be-12
74	74	cause the unborn child has been diagnosed with 13
75	75	Down syndrome. 14
76	76	(8) Tragically, in some countries that have 15
77	77	failed to protect unborn children diagnosed with 16
78	78	Down syndrome, virtually every unborn child diag-17
79	79	nosed with Down syndrome is aborted. 18
80	80	(9) Individuals with Down syndrome are inher-19
81	81	ently valuable and worthy of dignity and respect. 20
82	82	They enrich and strengthen our society in countless 21
83	83	ways, including but not limited to building meaning-22
84	84	ful relationships, participating in and creating fami-23
85	85	lies, learning, and working alongside other Ameri-24
86	86	cans. 25
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90	90	SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION BY ABORTION AGAINST AN UN-1
91	91	BORN CHILD ON THE BASIS OF DOWN SYN-2
92	92	DROME PROHIBITED. 3
93	93	(a) I
94	94	NGENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 18, United 4
95	95	States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-5
96	96	lowing: 6
97	97	‘‘§ 250. Discrimination by abortion against an unborn 7
98	98	child on the basis of Down syndrome pro-8
99	99	hibited 9
100	100	‘‘(a) D
101	101	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 10
102	102	‘‘(1) A
103	103	BORTION.—The term ‘abortion’ means 11
104	104	the act of using or prescribing any instrument, med-12
105	105	icine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means 13
106	106	with the intent to— 14
107	107	‘‘(A) kill the unborn child of a woman 15
108	108	known to be pregnant; or 16
109	109	‘‘(B) terminate the pregnancy of a woman 17
110	110	known to be pregnant, with an intention other 18
111	111	than— 19
112	112	‘‘(i) to produce a live birth and pre-20
113	113	serve the life and health of the child born 21
114	114	alive; 22
115	115	‘‘(ii) to save the life of the pregnant 23
116	116	woman; or 24
117	117	‘‘(iii) to remove a dead unborn child. 25
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121	121	‘‘(2) DOWN SYNDROME.—The term ‘Down syn-1
122	122	drome’ means a chromosomal disorder associated 2
123	123	with— 3
124	124	‘‘(A) an extra copy of the chromosome 21, 4
125	125	in whole or in part; or 5
126	126	‘‘(B) an effective trisomy for chromosome 6
127	127	21. 7
128	128	‘‘(3) Q
129	129	UALIFIED PLAINTIFF.—The term ‘quali-8
130	130	fied plaintiff’ means— 9
131	131	‘‘(A) a woman upon whom an abortion is 10
132	132	performed or attempted in violation of this sec-11
133	133	tion; 12
134	134	‘‘(B) a maternal grandparent of the un-13
135	135	born child if the woman upon whom an abortion 14
136	136	is performed or attempted in violation of this 15
137	137	section is an unemancipated minor; 16
138	138	‘‘(C) the father of an unborn child who is 17
139	139	the subject of an abortion performed or at-18
140	140	tempted in violation of this section unless the 19
141	141	pregnancy or abortion resulted from the crimi-20
142	142	nal conduct of the father; or 21
143	143	‘‘(D) the Attorney General. 22
144	144	‘‘(4) U
145	145	NBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 23
146	146	means an individual of the species homo sapiens 24
147	147	from the beginning of the biological development of 25
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151	151	that individual, including fertilization, until the point 1
152	152	of being born alive, as defined in section 8(b) of title 2
153	153	1. 3
154	154	‘‘(b) O
155	155	FFENSE.—It shall be unlawful to— 4
156	156	‘‘(1) perform an abortion— 5
157	157	‘‘(A) with the knowledge that a pregnant 6
158	158	woman is seeking an abortion, in whole or in 7
159	159	part, on the basis of— 8
160	160	‘‘(i) a test result indicating that the 9
161	161	unborn child has Down syndrome; 10
162	162	‘‘(ii) a prenatal diagnosis that the un-11
163	163	born child has Down syndrome; or 12
164	164	‘‘(iii) any other reason to believe that 13
165	165	the unborn child has or may have Down 14
166	166	syndrome; or 15
167	167	‘‘(B) without first— 16
168	168	‘‘(i) asking the pregnant woman if she 17
169	169	is aware of any test results, prenatal diag-18
170	170	nosis, or any other evidence that the un-19
171	171	born child has or may have Down syn-20
172	172	drome; and 21
173	173	‘‘(ii) if the woman is aware that the 22
174	174	unborn child has or may have Down syn-23
175	175	drome, informing the pregnant woman of 24
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179	179	the prohibitions on abortion under this sec-1
180	180	tion; 2
181	181	‘‘(2) use force or the threat of force to inten-3
182	182	tionally injure or intimidate any person for the pur-4
183	183	pose of coercing an abortion described in paragraph 5
184	184	(1)(A); 6
185	185	‘‘(3) solicit or accept funds for the performance 7
186	186	of an abortion described in paragraph (1)(A); or 8
187	187	‘‘(4) knowingly transport a woman into the 9
188	188	United States or across a State line for the purpose 10
189	189	of obtaining an abortion described in paragraph 11
190	190	(1)(A). 12
191	191	‘‘(c) C
192	192	RIMINALPENALTY.—Any person that violates, 13
193	193	or attempts to violate, subsection (b) shall be fined under 14
194	194	this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 15
195	195	‘‘(d) C
196	196	IVILREMEDIES.— 16
197	197	‘‘(1) C
198	198	IVIL ACTION BY WOMAN ON WHOM ABOR -17
199	199	TION IS PERFORMED .—A woman upon whom an 18
200	200	abortion has been performed or attempted in viola-19
201	201	tion of subsection (b)(2) may bring a civil action in 20
202	202	an appropriate court against any person who en-21
203	203	gaged in a violation of subsection (b)(2) to obtain 22
204	204	appropriate relief. 23
205	205	‘‘(2) C
206	206	IVIL ACTION BY RELATIVES.— 24
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210	210	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 1
211	211	subparagraph (B), the father of an unborn 2
212	212	child who is the subject of an abortion per-3
213	213	formed or attempted in violation of subsection 4
214	214	(b), or a maternal grandparent of the unborn 5
215	215	child if the pregnant woman is an 6
216	216	unemancipated minor, may bring a civil action 7
217	217	in an appropriate court against any person who 8
218	218	engaged in the violation to obtain appropriate 9
219	219	relief. 10
220	220	‘‘(B) E
221	221	XCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 11
222	222	shall not apply if— 12
223	223	‘‘(i) the pregnancy or abortion re-13
224	224	sulted from the criminal conduct of the 14
225	225	plaintiff described in subparagraph (A); or 15
226	226	‘‘(ii) the plaintiff described in sub-16
227	227	paragraph (A) consented to the abortion. 17
228	228	‘‘(3) A
229	229	PPROPRIATE RELIEF.—Appropriate relief 18
230	230	in a civil action under this subsection includes— 19
231	231	‘‘(A) objectively verifiable money damages 20
232	232	for all injuries, psychological and physical, in-21
233	233	cluding loss of companionship and support, oc-22
234	234	casioned by the violation of this section; and 23
235	235	‘‘(B) punitive damages. 24
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239	239	‘‘(4) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—A qualified plaintiff 1
240	240	may bring a civil action in an appropriate court to 2
241	241	obtain injunctive relief to prevent an abortion pro-3
242	242	vider from performing or attempting further abor-4
243	243	tions in violation of this section. 5
244	244	‘‘(5) A
245	245	TTORNEY’S FEES FOR PLAINTIFF .—The 6
246	246	court shall award a reasonable attorney’s fee as part 7
247	247	of the costs to a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action 8
248	248	under this subsection. 9
249	249	‘‘(e) B
250	250	AR TOPROSECUTION.—A woman upon whom 10
251	251	an abortion is performed may not be prosecuted or held 11
252	252	civilly liable for any violation of this section or for a con-12
253	253	spiracy to violate this section. 13
254	254	‘‘(f) L
255	255	OSS OFFEDERALFUNDING.—A violation of 14
256	256	subsection (b) shall be deemed discrimination for the pur-15
257	257	poses of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 16
258	258	U.S.C. 794). 17
259	259	‘‘(g) R
260	260	EPORTINGREQUIREMENT.— 18
261	261	‘‘(1) I
262	262	N GENERAL.—A physician, physician’s as-19
263	263	sistant, nurse, counselor, or other medical or mental 20
264	264	health professional shall report known or suspected 21
265	265	violations of any of this section to appropriate law 22
266	266	enforcement authorities. 23
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270	270	‘‘(2) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who vio-1
271	271	lates paragraph (1) shall be fined under this title, 2
272	272	imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 3
273	273	‘‘(h) E
274	274	XPEDITEDCONSIDERATION.—It shall be the 4
275	275	duty of the district courts of the United States, the courts 5
276	276	of appeals of the United States, and the Supreme Court 6
277	277	of the United States to advance on the docket and to expe-7
278	278	dite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of any 8
279	279	matter brought under this section. 9
280	280	‘‘(i) P
281	281	ROTECTION OF PRIVACY INCOURTPRO-10
282	282	CEEDINGS.— 11
283	283	‘‘(1) I
284	284	N GENERAL.—Except to the extent the 12
285	285	Constitution of the United States or other similarly 13
286	286	compelling reason requires, in every civil or criminal 14
287	287	action under this section, the court shall make such 15
288	288	orders as are necessary to protect the anonymity of 16
289	289	any woman upon whom an abortion has been per-17
290	290	formed or attempted if she does not give her written 18
291	291	consent to such disclosure. Such orders may be 19
292	292	made upon motion, but shall be made sua sponte if 20
293	293	not otherwise sought by a party. 21
294	294	‘‘(2) O
295	295	RDERS TO PARTIES , WITNESSES, AND 22
296	296	COUNSEL.—The court shall issue appropriate orders 23
297	297	to the parties, witnesses, and counsel and shall di-24
298	298	rect the sealing of the record and exclusion of indi-25
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302	302	viduals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to the ex-1
303	303	tent necessary to safeguard the identity of a woman 2
304	304	described in paragraph (1) from public disclosure. 3
305	305	‘‘(3) P
306	306	SEUDONYM REQUIRED .—In the absence 4
307	307	of written consent of the woman upon whom an 5
308	308	abortion has been performed or attempted, any 6
309	309	party, other than a public official, who brings an ac-7
310	310	tion under this section shall do so under a pseu-8
311	311	donym. 9
312	312	‘‘(4) L
313	313	IMITATION.—This subsection may not be 10
314	314	construed to conceal the identity of the plaintiff or 11
315	315	of witnesses from the defendant or from attorneys 12
316	316	for the defendant. 13
317	317	‘‘(j) R
318	318	ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.— 14
319	319	‘‘(1) G
320	320	REATER PROTECTION .—Nothing in this 15
321	321	section may be construed to pre-empt or limit any 16
322	322	Federal, State or local law that provides greater pro-17
323	323	tections for an unborn child than those provided in 18
324	324	this section. 19
325	325	‘‘(2) C
326	326	REATING OR RECOGNIZING RIGHT .— 20
327	327	Nothing in this section shall be construed as cre-21
328	328	ating or recognizing a right to abortion nor shall it 22
329	329	make lawful an abortion that is otherwise unlawful 23
330	330	under Federal, State, or local law.’’. 24
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334	334	(b) CLERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 1
335	335	of chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 2
336	336	by adding at the end the following: 3
337	337	‘‘250. Discrimination by abortion against an unborn child on the basis of Down
338	338	syndrome prohibited.’’.
339	339	SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
340	340	4
341	341	If any portion of this Act, or the amendments made 5
342	342	by this Act, or the application thereof to any person or 6
343	343	circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not af-7
344	344	fect the portions or applications of this Act which can be 8
345	345	given effect without the invalid portion or application. 9
346	346	Æ
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