Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995

[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1833 Introduced in House (IH)]

104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1833

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to ban partial-birth abortions.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 14, 1995

Mr. Canady of Florida (for himself, Mrs. Vucanovich, Mr. Hall of Ohio,
  Mr. Hyde, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Smith of
 Texas, Mrs. Smith of Washington, Mr. Weldon of Florida, Mr. Smith of
 New Jersey, Mr. Christensen, Mr. Dornan, Mr. Hilleary, Mr. Bunning of
   Kentucky, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Emerson, Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Largent, Mr.
    Walsh, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. Talent, Mr. Watts of Oklahoma, Mrs.
 Seastrand, Mr. Barton of Texas, Mr. Bryant of Tennessee, Mr. Young of
    Arkansas, Mr. Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. Stearns, and Mr. McIntosh)
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to ban partial-birth abortions.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of
1995''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS.
    (a) In General.--Title 18, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after chapter 73 the following:
                 ``CHAPTER 74--PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS
``Sec.
``1531Partial-birth abortions prohibited.
``Sec. 1531 Partial-birth abortions prohibited
    ``(a) Whoever, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce,
knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and thereby kills a human
fetus shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two
years, or both.
    ``(b) As used in this section, the term `partial-birth abortion'
means an abortion in which the person performing the abortion partially
vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and
completing the delivery.
    ``(c)(1) The mother, father, and if the mother has not attained the
age of 18 years at the time of the abortion, the maternal grandparents
of the fetus, may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief.
    ``(2) Such relief shall include--
            ``(A) money damages for all injuries, psychological and
        physical, occasioned by the violation of this section; and
            ``(B) statutory damages equal to three times the cost of
        the partial-birth abortion;
even if any party consented to the performance of an abortion.
    ``(d) A woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed may
not be prosecuted under this section for a conspiracy to violate this
section, or an offense under section 2, 3, or 4 of this title based on
a violation of this section.
    ``(e) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution or a civil
action under this section, which must be proved by a preponderance of
the evidence, that the partial-birth abortion was performed by a
physician who reasonably believed--
            ``(1) the partial-birth abortion was necessary to save the
        life of the woman upon whom it was performed; and
            ``(2) no other form of abortion would suffice for that
        purpose.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for part I of title
18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating
to chapter 73 the following new item:

``74. Partial-birth abortions...............................    1531''.
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