1 | 1 | | I |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 797 |
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5 | 5 | | To ensure that women seeking an abortion are notified, before giving informed |
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6 | 6 | | consent to receive an abortion, of the medical risks associated with |
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7 | 7 | | the abortion procedure and the major developmental characteristics of |
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8 | 8 | | the unborn child. |
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9 | 9 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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10 | 10 | | JANUARY28, 2025 |
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11 | 11 | | Mrs. M |
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12 | 12 | | ILLERof Illinois (for herself, Mr. BABIN, Mr. FINSTAD, Mr. RUTHER- |
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13 | 13 | | FORD, Mr. MOOREof Alabama, Mr. MOOREof West Virginia, Mr. |
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14 | 14 | | O |
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15 | 15 | | GLES, Mr. WEBSTERof Florida, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. SELF, Mr. HARRIS |
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16 | 16 | | of Maryland, and Mr. W |
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17 | 17 | | EBERof Texas) introduced the following bill; |
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18 | 18 | | which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce |
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19 | 19 | | A BILL |
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20 | 20 | | To ensure that women seeking an abortion are notified, |
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21 | 21 | | before giving informed consent to receive an abortion, |
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22 | 22 | | of the medical risks associated with the abortion proce- |
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23 | 23 | | dure and the major developmental characteristics of the |
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24 | 24 | | unborn child. |
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25 | 25 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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26 | 26 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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27 | 27 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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28 | 28 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ultrasounds Save 4 |
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29 | 29 | | Lives Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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32 | 32 | | •HR 797 IH |
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33 | 33 | | SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT OF INFORMED CONSENT. 1 |
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34 | 34 | | (a) I |
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35 | 35 | | NGENERAL.— 2 |
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36 | 36 | | (1) R |
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37 | 37 | | EQUIREMENT OF COMPLIANCE BY PRO -3 |
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38 | 38 | | VIDERS.—Any abortion provider, acting in or affect-4 |
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39 | 39 | | ing interstate or foreign commerce, who knowingly 5 |
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40 | 40 | | performs, or attempts to perform, any abortion shall 6 |
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41 | 41 | | comply with the requirements of this section. 7 |
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42 | 42 | | (2) R |
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43 | 43 | | EVIEW OF MEDICAL RISKS AND UNBORN 8 |
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44 | 44 | | HEALTH STATUS.—Except in the case of a medical 9 |
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45 | 45 | | emergency, an abortion provider who intends to per-10 |
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46 | 46 | | form, or attempt to perform, an abortion may not 11 |
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47 | 47 | | perform any part of the abortion procedure without 12 |
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48 | 48 | | first— 13 |
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49 | 49 | | (A) performing an ultrasound on the 14 |
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50 | 50 | | woman seeking the abortion, using whichever 15 |
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51 | 51 | | method the physician and patient agree is best 16 |
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52 | 52 | | under the circumstance, and sharing the results 17 |
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53 | 53 | | of such ultrasound with the woman; and 18 |
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54 | 54 | | (B) obtaining a signed Informed Consent 19 |
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55 | 55 | | Authorization form in accordance with this sub-20 |
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56 | 56 | | section. 21 |
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57 | 57 | | (3) I |
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58 | 58 | | NFORMED CONSENT AUTHORIZATION 22 |
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59 | 59 | | FORM.— 23 |
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60 | 60 | | (A) I |
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61 | 61 | | N GENERAL.—The Informed Consent 24 |
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62 | 62 | | Authorization form required under this sub-25 |
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63 | 63 | | section shall— 26 |
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66 | 66 | | •HR 797 IH |
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67 | 67 | | (i) be presented in person by the abor-1 |
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68 | 68 | | tion provider 24 hours prior to performing, 2 |
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69 | 69 | | or attempting to perform, the abortion to 3 |
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70 | 70 | | the woman seeking the abortion; and 4 |
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71 | 71 | | (ii) consist of— 5 |
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72 | 72 | | (I) a statement by the abortion 6 |
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73 | 73 | | provider indicating— 7 |
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74 | 74 | | (aa) the probable gestational 8 |
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75 | 75 | | age, in completed days, of the 9 |
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76 | 76 | | child; 10 |
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77 | 77 | | (bb) all medical risks associ-11 |
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78 | 78 | | ated with abortion-inducing 12 |
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79 | 79 | | drugs or the specific abortion 13 |
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80 | 80 | | procedure; and 14 |
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81 | 81 | | (cc) the major developmental 15 |
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82 | 82 | | characteristics of unborn children 16 |
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83 | 83 | | at such gestational age, including 17 |
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84 | 84 | | the presence of a heartbeat, the 18 |
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85 | 85 | | ability to react to painful stimuli, 19 |
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86 | 86 | | and the development of organs, 20 |
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87 | 87 | | appendages, and facial features; 21 |
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88 | 88 | | (II) a statement by the abortion 22 |
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89 | 89 | | provider that an ultrasound has been 23 |
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90 | 90 | | performed, and the results of such 24 |
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93 | 93 | | •HR 797 IH |
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94 | 94 | | ultrasound have been shared, as re-1 |
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95 | 95 | | quired by paragraph (2)(A); 2 |
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96 | 96 | | (III) a statement that the re-3 |
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97 | 97 | | quirements of this subsection are 4 |
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98 | 98 | | binding upon the abortion provider 5 |
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99 | 99 | | and all other medical personnel, that 6 |
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100 | 100 | | such abortion providers and medical 7 |
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101 | 101 | | personnel are subject to criminal and 8 |
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102 | 102 | | civil penalties for violations of these 9 |
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103 | 103 | | requirements, and that a woman on 10 |
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104 | 104 | | whom an abortion has been performed 11 |
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105 | 105 | | may take civil action if these require-12 |
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106 | 106 | | ments are not followed; and 13 |
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107 | 107 | | (IV) an affirmation that each in-14 |
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108 | 108 | | dividual signing the Informed Consent 15 |
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109 | 109 | | Authorization form has filled out the 16 |
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110 | 110 | | form to the best of his or her knowl-17 |
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111 | 111 | | edge and understands the information 18 |
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112 | 112 | | contained in the form. 19 |
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113 | 113 | | (B) S |
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114 | 114 | | IGNATORIES REQUIRED .—The In-20 |
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115 | 115 | | formed Consent Authorization form required 21 |
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116 | 116 | | under this subsection shall be signed in person 22 |
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117 | 117 | | by the woman seeking the abortion, the abor-23 |
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118 | 118 | | tion provider performing or attempting to per-24 |
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119 | 119 | | form the abortion, and a witness. 25 |
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123 | 123 | | (C) RETENTION OF CONSENT FORM .—The 1 |
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124 | 124 | | abortion provider performing or attempting to 2 |
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125 | 125 | | perform an abortion shall retain the signed In-3 |
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126 | 126 | | formed Consent Authorization form required 4 |
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127 | 127 | | under this subsection in the patient’s medical 5 |
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128 | 128 | | file. 6 |
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129 | 129 | | (D) R |
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130 | 130 | | EQUIREMENT FOR DATA RETEN -7 |
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131 | 131 | | TION.—Paragraph (j)(2) of section 164.530 of 8 |
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132 | 132 | | title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, shall 9 |
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133 | 133 | | apply to the Informed Consent Authorization 10 |
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134 | 134 | | form required to be placed in a patient’s med-11 |
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135 | 135 | | ical file pursuant to subparagraph (C) in the 12 |
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136 | 136 | | same manner and to the same extent as such 13 |
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137 | 137 | | paragraph applies to documentation required by 14 |
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138 | 138 | | paragraph (j)(1) of such section. 15 |
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139 | 139 | | (4) E |
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140 | 140 | | XCEPTIONS.—The requirements of this 16 |
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141 | 141 | | subsection shall not apply if, in reasonable medical 17 |
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142 | 142 | | judgment, compliance with paragraph (2) would pose 18 |
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143 | 143 | | a greater risk of— 19 |
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144 | 144 | | (A) the death of the pregnant woman; or 20 |
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145 | 145 | | (B) the substantial and irreversible phys-21 |
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146 | 146 | | ical impairment of a major bodily function, not 22 |
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147 | 147 | | including psychological or emotional conditions, 23 |
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148 | 148 | | of the pregnant woman. 24 |
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149 | 149 | | (b) P |
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150 | 150 | | ENALTY FORFAILURETOCOMPLY.— 25 |
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153 | 153 | | •HR 797 IH |
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154 | 154 | | (1) CIVIL PENALTY.— 1 |
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155 | 155 | | (A) E |
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156 | 156 | | NFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GEN -2 |
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157 | 157 | | ERAL.—The Attorney General shall commence 3 |
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158 | 158 | | a civil action in an appropriate district court of 4 |
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159 | 159 | | the United States under this subsection against 5 |
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160 | 160 | | any abortion provider who knowingly commits a 6 |
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161 | 161 | | violation of subsection (a). 7 |
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162 | 162 | | (B) P |
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163 | 163 | | ENALTY.—In a civil action under 8 |
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164 | 164 | | subparagraph (A), the court may, to vindicate 9 |
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165 | 165 | | the public interest, assess a civil penalty against 10 |
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166 | 166 | | the abortion provider in an amount— 11 |
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167 | 167 | | (i) not less than $100,000 and not 12 |
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168 | 168 | | more than $150,000, for each such viola-13 |
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169 | 169 | | tion that is adjudicated in the first pro-14 |
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170 | 170 | | ceeding against such abortion provider 15 |
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171 | 171 | | under this subsection; or 16 |
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172 | 172 | | (ii) not less than $150,001 and not 17 |
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173 | 173 | | more than $250,000, for each such viola-18 |
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174 | 174 | | tion that is adjudicated in a subsequent 19 |
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175 | 175 | | proceeding against such abortion provider 20 |
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176 | 176 | | under this subsection. 21 |
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177 | 177 | | (C) N |
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178 | 178 | | OTIFICATION.—Upon the assessment 22 |
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179 | 179 | | of a civil penalty under subparagraph (B), the 23 |
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180 | 180 | | Attorney General shall notify the appropriate 24 |
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181 | 181 | | State medical licensing authority. 25 |
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184 | 184 | | •HR 797 IH |
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185 | 185 | | (D) NO PENALTIES FOR PREGNANT 1 |
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186 | 186 | | WOMEN.—A pregnant woman shall not be sub-2 |
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187 | 187 | | ject to any penalty under this section. 3 |
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188 | 188 | | (2) P |
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189 | 189 | | RIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 4 |
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190 | 190 | | (A) I |
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191 | 191 | | N GENERAL.—A woman or a parent 5 |
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192 | 192 | | of a minor upon whom an abortion has been 6 |
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193 | 193 | | performed in violation of subsection (a) may 7 |
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194 | 194 | | commence a civil action against the abortion 8 |
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195 | 195 | | provider for appropriate relief. 9 |
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196 | 196 | | (B) A |
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197 | 197 | | PPROPRIATE RELIEF.— 10 |
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198 | 198 | | (i) I |
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199 | 199 | | N GENERAL.—Subject to clause 11 |
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200 | 200 | | (ii), appropriate relief in a civil action 12 |
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201 | 201 | | under this paragraph includes— 13 |
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202 | 202 | | (I) objectively verifiable money 14 |
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203 | 203 | | damages for all injuries, psychological 15 |
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204 | 204 | | and physical, occasioned by the viola-16 |
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205 | 205 | | tion; 17 |
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206 | 206 | | (II) statutory damages equal to 3 18 |
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207 | 207 | | times the cost of the abortion; and 19 |
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208 | 208 | | (III) punitive damages. 20 |
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209 | 209 | | (ii) E |
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210 | 210 | | XCEPTION.—No damages may 21 |
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211 | 211 | | be awarded to a plaintiff in a civil action 22 |
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212 | 212 | | under this paragraph if the pregnancy in 23 |
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213 | 213 | | relation to which an abortion was per-24 |
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214 | 214 | | formed in violation of subsection (a) re-25 |
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217 | 217 | | •HR 797 IH |
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218 | 218 | | sulted from the plaintiff’s criminal con-1 |
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219 | 219 | | duct. 2 |
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220 | 220 | | (C) A |
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221 | 221 | | TTORNEY’S FEES FOR PLAINTIFF .— 3 |
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222 | 222 | | The court shall award a reasonable attorney’s 4 |
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223 | 223 | | fee as part of the costs to a prevailing plaintiff 5 |
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224 | 224 | | in a civil action under this paragraph. 6 |
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225 | 225 | | (D) A |
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226 | 226 | | TTORNEY’S FEES FOR DEFEND -7 |
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227 | 227 | | ANT.—If a defendant in a civil action under 8 |
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228 | 228 | | this paragraph prevails and the court finds that 9 |
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229 | 229 | | the plaintiff’s suit was frivolous, the court shall 10 |
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230 | 230 | | award a reasonable attorney’s fee in favor of 11 |
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231 | 231 | | the defendant against the plaintiff. 12 |
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232 | 232 | | (E) A |
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233 | 233 | | WARDS AGAINST WOMAN .—In any 13 |
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234 | 234 | | civil action under this paragraph, no damages 14 |
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235 | 235 | | or other monetary relief, and no attorney’s fees 15 |
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236 | 236 | | except as provided under subparagraph (D), 16 |
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237 | 237 | | may be assessed against the woman upon whom 17 |
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238 | 238 | | the abortion was performed or attempted. 18 |
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239 | 239 | | (c) P |
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240 | 240 | | REEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 19 |
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241 | 241 | | construed to preempt any provision of State law to the 20 |
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242 | 242 | | extent that such State law establishes, implements, or con-21 |
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243 | 243 | | tinues in effect disclosure requirements regarding abortion 22 |
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244 | 244 | | or penalties for failure to comply with such requirements 23 |
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245 | 245 | | that are more extensive than those provided under this 24 |
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246 | 246 | | section. 25 |
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250 | 250 | | (d) RULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-1 |
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251 | 251 | | tion shall be construed to prohibit an abortion provider 2 |
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252 | 252 | | from presenting the information required under subsection 3 |
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253 | 253 | | (a) to a pregnant woman at the same time as acquiring 4 |
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254 | 254 | | informed consent for an abortion from such woman in ac-5 |
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255 | 255 | | cordance with State law, provided that the presentation 6 |
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256 | 256 | | of such information occurs at least 24 hours before the 7 |
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257 | 257 | | abortion. 8 |
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258 | 258 | | (e) D |
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259 | 259 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 |
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260 | 260 | | (1) A |
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261 | 261 | | BORTION.—The term ‘‘abortion’’ means 10 |
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262 | 262 | | the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, 11 |
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263 | 263 | | drug, or any other substance or device— 12 |
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264 | 264 | | (A) to intentionally kill the unborn child of 13 |
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265 | 265 | | a woman known to be pregnant; or 14 |
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266 | 266 | | (B) to intentionally terminate the preg-15 |
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267 | 267 | | nancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with 16 |
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268 | 268 | | an intention other than— 17 |
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269 | 269 | | (i) after viability to produce a live 18 |
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270 | 270 | | birth and preserve the life and health of 19 |
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271 | 271 | | the child born alive; or 20 |
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272 | 272 | | (ii) to remove a dead unborn child. 21 |
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273 | 273 | | (2) A |
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274 | 274 | | BORTION PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘abortion 22 |
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275 | 275 | | provider’’ means a person— 23 |
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276 | 276 | | (A) licensed to practice medicine and sur-24 |
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277 | 277 | | gery or osteopathic medicine and surgery; or 25 |
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281 | 281 | | (B) otherwise legally authorized to perform 1 |
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282 | 282 | | an abortion. 2 |
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283 | 283 | | (3) A |
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284 | 284 | | TTEMPT.—The term ‘‘attempt’’, with re-3 |
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285 | 285 | | spect to an abortion, means conduct that, under the 4 |
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286 | 286 | | circumstances as the actor believes them to be, con-5 |
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287 | 287 | | stitutes a substantial step in a course of conduct 6 |
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288 | 288 | | planned to culminate in performing an abortion. 7 |
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289 | 289 | | (4) M |
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290 | 290 | | INOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi-8 |
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291 | 291 | | vidual who has not attained the age of 18 years. 9 |
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292 | 292 | | (5) P |
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293 | 293 | | ERFORM.—The term ‘‘perform’’, with re-10 |
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294 | 294 | | spect to an abortion, includes inducing an abortion 11 |
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295 | 295 | | through a medical or chemical intervention including 12 |
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296 | 296 | | writing a prescription for a drug or device intended 13 |
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297 | 297 | | to result in an abortion. 14 |
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298 | 298 | | (6) R |
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299 | 299 | | EASONABLE MEDICAL JUDGMENT .—The 15 |
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300 | 300 | | term ‘‘reasonable medical judgment’’ means a med-16 |
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301 | 301 | | ical judgment that would be made by a reasonably 17 |
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302 | 302 | | prudent abortion provider, knowledgeable about the 18 |
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303 | 303 | | case and the treatment possibilities with respect to 19 |
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304 | 304 | | the medical conditions involved. 20 |
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305 | 305 | | (7) U |
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306 | 306 | | NBORN CHILD.—The term ‘‘unborn child’’ 21 |
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307 | 307 | | means an individual organism of the species homo 22 |
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308 | 308 | | sapiens, beginning at fertilization, until the point of 23 |
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309 | 309 | | being born alive as defined in section 8(b) of title 1, 24 |
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310 | 310 | | United States Code. 25 |
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314 | 314 | | (8) WOMAN.—The term ‘‘woman’’ means a fe-1 |
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315 | 315 | | male human being whether or not she has reached 2 |
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316 | 316 | | the age of majority. 3 |
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317 | 317 | | Æ |
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