IB 

Union Calendar No. 461 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3803 

[Report No. 112–640, Part I] 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect pain-capable unborn 

children in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 23, 2012 

Mr. FRANKS of Arizona (for himself, Mr. AKIN, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. FLEMING, 

Mr. WALBERG, Mr. HUELSKAMP, Mr. PITTS, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. SMITH

of Texas, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SOUTHERLAND, 

Mrs. SCHMIDT, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. PENCE, 

Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. ROSS of Florida, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. 

HERGER, Mr. CANSECO, Mr. LANKFORD, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. AUSTIN

SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. NUNNELEE, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

JONES, Mr. LANDRY, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mrs. 

ROBY, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. KELLY, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. JORDAN, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mrs. ELLMERS, Mr. AMASH, Mr. ISSA, Mr. 

SCHWEIKERT, and Mr. SCALISE) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 


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JULY 31, 2012 

Additional sponsors: Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. LONG, Mr. MILLER of Florida, 

Mrs. BLACK, Mr. BONNER, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, 

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. BARLETTA, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, 

Mr. KING of New York, Mr. CARTER, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. CONAWAY, Mrs. ADAMS, Mr. SCHILLING, Mr. LATTA, Mr. WILSON of South 

Carolina, Mr. COLE, Mr. KLINE, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, 

Mr. WOMACK, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. FINCHER, Mr. POMPEO, Mr. 

MCCOTTER, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. YODER, Mr. PALAZZO, 

Mr. QUAYLE, Ms. JENKINS, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. 

BURTON of Indiana, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. 

BRADY of Texas, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. HUNTER, 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. CRAVAACK, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. 

BARTLETT, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. SCHOCK, Mr. DUNCAN

of South Carolina, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. FORBES, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. 

CRAWFORD, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. WOODALL, Mr. TERRY, Mr. DUNCAN of 

Tennessee, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. BERG, Mr. PETRI, Mr. AUSTRIA, Mr. SULLIVAN, 

Mr. CAMP, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. COBLE, Mr. GOSAR, 

Mr. LUCAS, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. 

RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. OLSON, Mr. RIVERA, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. BILIRAKIS, 

Mr. POSEY, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mrs. NOEM, Mr. 

MARINO, Mr. UPTON, Mr. HARPER, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. SIMPSON, 

Mr. FLORES, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. GINGREY of Georgia, Mr. SMITH of 

Nebraska, Mr. YOUNG of Indiana, Mr. ROKITA, Mr. ROONEY, Mr. 

MCCLINTOCK, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, 

Mr. STEARNS, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. CULBERSON, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, 

Mr. GARRETT, Mr. HECK, Mr. LATOURETTE, Ms. FOXX, Mr. POE of 

Texas, Mr. HALL, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, Ms. 

BUERKLE, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. MICA, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. NUGENT, Mr. 

YOUNG of Florida, Mr. TURNER of Ohio, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. WEST, Mr. RIGELL, 

Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. 

BROOKS, Mr. HURT, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, Mr. YOUNG of 

Alaska, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. TURNER of New York, Mr. THORNBERRY, 

Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. WOLF, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. BOREN, Mr. REED, Mr. WALSH of Illinois, 

Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. GUINTA, Mr. DANIEL E. 

LUNGREN of California, Mr. NUNES, Mr. PAULSEN, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. 

LANCE, Mr. GRIFFITH of Virginia, Mr. WEBSTER, Mr. MACK, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. LOBIONDO, and Mr. 

TIPTON


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JULY 31, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JULY 31, 2012 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform discharged; committed 

to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 23, 2012] 


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A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect paincapable unborn children in the District of Columbia, 

and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia 

5 Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds and declares the following: 

8 (1) Pain receptors (nociceptors) are present 

9 throughout the unborn child’s entire body and nerves 

10 link these receptors to the brain’s thalamus and sub11 cortical plate by no later than 20 weeks after fertiliza12 tion. 

13 (2) By 8 weeks after fertilization, the unborn 

14 child reacts to touch. After 20 weeks, the unborn child 

15 reacts to stimuli that would be recognized as painful 

16 if applied to an adult human, for example, by recoil17 ing. 

18 (3) In the unborn child, application of such 

19 painful stimuli is associated with significant in20 creases in stress hormones known as the stress re21 sponse. 

22 (4) Subjection to such painful stimuli is associ23 ated with long-term harmful neurodevelopmental ef24 fects, such as altered pain sensitivity and, possibly, 


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1 emotional, behavioral, and learning disabilities later 

2 in life. 

3 (5) For the purposes of surgery on unborn chil4 dren, fetal anesthesia is routinely administered and is 

5 associated with a decrease in stress hormones com6 pared to their level when painful stimuli are applied 

7 without such anesthesia. 

8 (6) The position, asserted by some medical ex9 perts, that the unborn child is incapable of experi10 encing pain until a point later in pregnancy than 20 

11 weeks after fertilization predominately rests on the as12 sumption that the ability to experience pain depends 

13 on the cerebral cortex and requires nerve connections 

14 between the thalamus and the cortex. However, recent 

15 medical research and analysis, especially since 2007, 

16 provides strong evidence for the conclusion that a 

17 functioning cortex is not necessary to experience pain. 

18 (7) Substantial evidence indicates that children 

19 born missing the bulk of the cerebral cortex, those 

20 with hydranencephaly, nevertheless experience pain. 

21 (8) In adult humans and in animals, stimula22 tion or ablation of the cerebral cortex does not alter 

23 pain perception, while stimulation or ablation of the 

24 thalamus does. 


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1 (9) Substantial evidence indicates that structures 

2 used for pain processing in early development differ 

3 from those of adults, using different neural elements 

4 available at specific times during development, such 

5 as the subcortical plate, to fulfill the role of pain 

6 processing. 

7 (10) The position, asserted by some commenta8 tors, that the unborn child remains in a coma-like 

9 sleep state that precludes the unborn child experi10 encing pain is inconsistent with the documented reac11 tion of unborn children to painful stimuli and with 

12 the experience of fetal surgeons who have found it nec13 essary to sedate the unborn child with anesthesia to 

14 prevent the unborn child from engaging in vigorous 

15 movement in reaction to invasive surgery. 

16 (11) Consequently, there is substantial medical 

17 evidence that an unborn child is capable of experi18 encing pain at least by 20 weeks after fertilization, if 

19 not earlier. 

20 (12) It is the purpose of the Congress to assert 

21 a compelling governmental interest in protecting the 

22 lives of unborn children from the stage at which sub23 stantial medical evidence indicates that they are ca24 pable of feeling pain. 


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1 (13) The compelling governmental interest in 

2 protecting the lives of unborn children from the stage 

3 at which substantial medical evidence indicates that 

4 they are capable of feeling pain is intended to be sep5 arate from and independent of the compelling govern6 mental interest in protecting the lives of unborn chil7 dren from the stage of viability, and neither govern8 mental interest is intended to replace the other. 

9 (14) The District Council of the District of Co10 lumbia, operating under authority delegated by Con11 gress, repealed the entire District law limiting abor12 tions, effective April 29, 2004, so that in the District 

13 of Columbia, abortion is now legal, for any reason, 

14 until the moment of birth. 

15 (15) Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the 

16 United States of America provides that the Congress 

17 shall ‘‘exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases what18 soever’’ over the District established as the seat of gov19 ernment of the United States, now known as the Dis20 trict of Columbia. The constitutional responsibility 

21 for the protection of pain-capable unborn children 

22 within the Federal District resides with the Congress. 


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1 SEC. 3. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PAIN-CAPABLE UNBORN 

2 CHILD PROTECTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 74 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1531 the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘§ 1532. District of Columbia pain-capable unborn 

7 child protection 

8 ‘‘(a) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—Notwithstanding any 

9 other provision of law, including any legislation of the Dis10 trict of Columbia under authority delegated by Congress, 

11 it shall be unlawful for any person to perform an abortion 

12 within the District of Columbia, or attempt to do so, unless 

13 in conformity with the requirements set forth in subsection 

14 (b). 

15 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ABORTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) The physician performing or attempting the 

17 abortion shall first make a determination of the prob18 able post-fertilization age of the unborn child or rea19 sonably rely upon such a determination made by an20 other physician. In making such a determination, the 

21 physician shall make such inquiries of the pregnant 

22 woman and perform or cause to be performed such 

23 medical examinations and tests as a reasonably pru24 dent physician, knowledgeable about the case and the 

25 medical conditions involved, would consider necessary 


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1 to make an accurate determination of post-fertiliza2 tion age. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

4 (B), the abortion shall not be performed or attempted, 

5 if the probable post-fertilization age, as determined 

6 under paragraph (1), of the unborn child is 20 weeks 

7 or greater. 

8 ‘‘(B) Subject to subparagraph (C), subparagraph 

9 (A) does not apply if, in reasonable medical judg10 ment, the abortion is necessary to save the life of a 

11 pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a phys12 ical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, in13 cluding a life-endangering physical condition caused 

14 by or arising from the pregnancy itself, but not in15 cluding psychological or emotional conditions. 

16 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding the definitions of ‘abor17 tion’ and ‘attempt an abortion’ in this section, a phy18 sician terminating or attempting to terminate a preg19 nancy under the exception provided by subparagraph 

20 (B) may do so only in the manner which, in reason21 able medical judgment, provides the best opportunity 

22 for the unborn child to survive, unless, in reasonable 

23 medical judgment, termination of the pregnancy in 

24 that manner would pose a greater risk of— 

25 ‘‘(i) the death of the pregnant woman; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the substantial and irreversible phys2 ical impairment of a major bodily function, not 

3 including psychological or emotional conditions, 

4 of the pregnant woman; 

5 than would other available methods. 

6 ‘‘(c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Whoever violates subsection 

7 (a) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more 

8 than 2 years, or both. 

9 ‘‘(d) BAR TO PROSECUTION.—A woman upon whom 

10 an abortion in violation of subsection (a) is performed or 

11 attempted may not be prosecuted under, or for a conspiracy 

12 to violate, subsection (a), or for an offense under section 

13 2, 3, or 4 based on such a violation. 

14 ‘‘(e) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) CIVIL ACTION BY WOMAN ON WHOM THE

16 ABORTION IS PERFORMED.—A woman upon whom an 

17 abortion has been performed or attempted in violation 

18 of subsection (a), may in a civil action against any 

19 person who engaged in the violation obtain appro20 priate relief. 

21 ‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTION BY RELATIVES.—The father of 

22 an unborn child who is the subject of an abortion per23 formed or attempted in violation of subsection (a), or 

24 a maternal grandparent of the unborn child if the 

25 pregnant woman is an unemancipated minor, may in 


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1 a civil action against any person who engaged in the 

2 violation, obtain appropriate relief, unless the preg3 nancy resulted from the plaintiff’s criminal conduct 

4 or the plaintiff consented to the abortion. 

5 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE RELIEF.—Appropriate relief 

6 in a civil action under this subsection includes— 

7 ‘‘(A) objectively verifiable money damages 

8 for all injuries, psychological and physical, occa9 sioned by the violation of this section; 

10 ‘‘(B) statutory damages equal to three times 

11 the cost of the abortion; and 

12 ‘‘(C) punitive damages. 

13 ‘‘(4) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A qualified plaintiff 

15 may in a civil action obtain injunctive relief to 

16 prevent an abortion provider from performing or 

17 attempting further abortions in violation of this 

18 section. 

19 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph the 

20 term ‘qualified plaintiff’ means— 

21 ‘‘(i) a woman upon whom an abortion 

22 is performed or attempted in violation of 

23 this section; 

24 ‘‘(ii) any person who is the spouse, 

25 parent, sibling or guardian of, or a current 


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1 or former licensed health care provider of, 

2 that woman; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) the United States Attorney for 

4 the District of Columbia. 

5 ‘‘(5) ATTORNEYS FEES FOR PLAINTIFF.—The 

6 court shall award a reasonable attorney’s fee as part 

7 of the costs to a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action 

8 under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(6) ATTORNEYS FEES FOR DEFENDANT.—If a 

10 defendant in a civil action under this section prevails 

11 and the court finds that the plaintiff’s suit was frivo12 lous and brought in bad faith, the court shall also 

13 render judgment for a reasonable attorney’s fee in 

14 favor of the defendant against the plaintiff. 

15 ‘‘(7) AWARDS AGAINST WOMAN.—Except under 

16 paragraph (6), in a civil action under this subsection, 

17 no damages, attorney’s fee or other monetary relief 

18 may be assessed against the woman upon whom the 

19 abortion was performed or attempted. 

20 ‘‘(f) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY IN COURT PRO21 CEEDINGS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except to the extent the Con23 stitution or other similarly compelling reason re24 quires, in every civil or criminal action under this 

25 section, the court shall make such orders as are necVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:55 Aug 01, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3803.RH H3803

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1 essary to protect the anonymity of any woman upon 

2 whom an abortion has been performed or attempted 

3 if she does not give her written consent to such disclo4 sure. Such orders may be made upon motion, but 

5 shall be made sua sponte if not otherwise sought by 

6 a party. 

7 ‘‘(2) ORDERS TO PARTIES, WITNESSES, AND

8 COUNSEL.—The court shall issue appropriate orders 

9 under paragraph (1) to the parties, witnesses, and 

10 counsel and shall direct the sealing of the record and 

11 exclusion of individuals from courtrooms or hearing 

12 rooms to the extent necessary to safeguard her iden13 tity from public disclosure. Each such order shall be 

14 accompanied by specific written findings explaining 

15 why the anonymity of the woman must be preserved 

16 from public disclosure, why the order is essential to 

17 that end, how the order is narrowly tailored to serve 

18 that interest, and why no reasonable less restrictive 

19 alternative exists. 

20 ‘‘(3) PSEUDONYM REQUIRED.—In the absence of 

21 written consent of the woman upon whom an abortion 

22 has been performed or attempted, any party, other 

23 than a public official, who brings an action under 

24 paragraphs (1), (2), or (4) of subsection (e) shall do 

25 so under a pseudonym. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—This subsection shall not be 

2 construed to conceal the identity of the plaintiff or of 

3 witnesses from the defendant or from attorneys for the 

4 defendant. 

5 ‘‘(g) REPORTING.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DUTY TO REPORT.—Any physician who 

7 performs or attempts an abortion within the District 

8 of Columbia shall report that abortion to the relevant 

9 District of Columbia health agency (hereinafter in 

10 this section referred to as the ‘health agency’) on a 

11 schedule and in accordance with forms and regula12 tions prescribed by the health agency. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report shall 

14 include the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) POST-FERTILIZATION AGE.—For the 

16 determination of probable postfertilization age of 

17 the unborn child, whether ultrasound was em18 ployed in making the determination, and the 

19 week of probable post-fertilization age that was 

20 determined. 

21 ‘‘(B) METHOD OF ABORTION.—Which of the 

22 following methods or combination of methods 

23 was employed: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Dilation, dismemberment, and 

2 evacuation of fetal parts also known as ‘di3 lation and evacuation’. 

4 ‘‘(ii) Intra-amniotic instillation of sa5 line, urea, or other substance (specify sub6 stance) to kill the unborn child, followed by 

7 induction of labor. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Intracardiac or other intra-fetal 

9 injection of digoxin, potassium chloride, or 

10 other substance (specify substance) intended 

11 to kill the unborn child, followed by induc12 tion of labor. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Partial-birth abortion, as defined 

14 in section 1531. 

15 ‘‘(v) Manual vacuum aspiration with16 out other methods. 

17 ‘‘(vi) Electrical vacuum aspiration 

18 without other methods. 

19 ‘‘(vii) Abortion induced by use of 

20 mifepristone in combination with 

21 misoprostol. 

22 ‘‘(viii) If none of the methods described 

23 in the other clauses of this subparagraph 

24 was employed, whatever method was em25 ployed. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AGE OF WOMAN.—The age or approxi2 mate age of the pregnant woman. 

3 ‘‘(D) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS

4 FOR EXCEPTION.—The facts relied upon and the 

5 basis for any determinations required to estab6 lish compliance with the requirements for the ex7 ception provided by subsection (b)(2). 

8 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSIONS FROM REPORTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) A report required under this subsection 

10 shall not contain the name or the address of the 

11 woman whose pregnancy was terminated, nor 

12 shall the report contain any other information 

13 identifying the woman. 

14 ‘‘(B) Such report shall contain a unique 

15 Medical Record Number, to enable matching the 

16 report to the woman’s medical records. 

17 ‘‘(C) Such reports shall be maintained in 

18 strict confidence by the health agency, shall not 

19 be available for public inspection, and shall not 

20 be made available except— 

21 ‘‘(i) to the United States Attorney for 

22 the District of Columbia or that Attorney’s 

23 delegate for a criminal investigation or a 

24 civil investigation of conduct that may vio25 late this section; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) pursuant to court order in an ac2 tion under subsection (e). 

3 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than June 30 

4 of each year beginning after the date of enactment of 

5 this paragraph, the health agency shall issue a public 

6 report providing statistics for the previous calendar 

7 year compiled from all of the reports made to the 

8 health agency under this subsection for that year for 

9 each of the items listed in paragraph (2). The report 

10 shall also provide the statistics for all previous cal11 endar years during which this section was in effect, 

12 adjusted to reflect any additional information from 

13 late or corrected reports. The health agency shall take 

14 care to ensure that none of the information included 

15 in the public reports could reasonably lead to the 

16 identification of any pregnant woman upon whom an 

17 abortion was performed or attempted. 

18 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO SUBMIT REPORT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) LATE FEE.—Any physician who fails 

20 to submit a report not later than 30 days after 

21 the date that report is due shall be subject to a 

22 late fee of $1,000 for each additional 30-day pe23 riod or portion of a 30-day period the report is 

24 overdue. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COURT ORDER TO COMPLY.—A court 

2 of competent jurisdiction may, in a civil action 

3 commenced by the health agency, direct any phy4 sician whose report under this subsection is still 

5 not filed as required, or is incomplete, more than 

6 180 days after the date the report was due, to 

7 comply with the requirements of this section 

8 under penalty of civil contempt. 

9 ‘‘(C) DISCIPLINARY ACTION.—Intentional or 

10 reckless failure by any physician to comply with 

11 any requirement of this subsection, other than 

12 late filing of a report, constitutes sufficient cause 

13 for any disciplinary sanction which the Health 

14 Professional Licensing Administration of the 

15 District of Columbia determines is appropriate, 

16 including suspension or revocation of any license 

17 granted by the Administration. 

18 ‘‘(6) FORMS AND REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

19 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 

20 the health agency shall prescribe forms and regula21 tions to assist in compliance with this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(7) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REQUIREMENT.— 

23 Paragraph (1) of this subsection takes effect with re24 spect to all abortions performed on and after the first 


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1 day of the first calendar month beginning after the ef2 fective date of such forms and regulations. 

3 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following defi4 nitions apply: 

5 ‘‘(1) ABORTION.—The term ‘abortion’ means the 

6 use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, 

7 drug, or any other substance or device— 

8 ‘‘(A) to intentionally kill the unborn child 

9 of a woman known to be pregnant; or 

10 ‘‘(B) to otherwise intentionally terminate 

11 the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant 

12 with an intention other than to increase the 

13 probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or 

14 health of the child after live birth, or to remove 

15 a dead unborn child who died as the result of 

16 natural causes in utero, accidental trauma, or a 

17 criminal assault on the pregnant woman or her 

18 unborn child, and which causes the premature 

19 termination of the pregnancy. 

20 ‘‘(2) ATTEMPT AN ABORTION.—The term ‘at21 tempt’, with respect to an abortion, means conduct 

22 that, under the circumstances as the actor believes 

23 them to be, constitutes a substantial step in a course 

24 of conduct planned to culminate in performing an 

25 abortion in the District of Columbia. 


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1 ‘‘(3) FERTILIZATION.—The term ‘fertilization’ 

2 means the fusion of human spermatozoon with a 

3 human ovum. 

4 ‘‘(4) HEALTH AGENCY.—The term ‘health agen5 cy’ means the Department of Health of the District of 

6 Columbia or any successor agency responsible for the 

7 regulation of medical practice. 

8 ‘‘(5) PERFORM.—The term ‘perform’, with re9 spect to an abortion, includes induce an abortion 

10 through a medical or chemical intervention including 

11 writing a prescription for a drug or device intended 

12 to result in an abortion. 

13 ‘‘(6) PHYSICIAN.—The term ‘physician’ means a 

14 person licensed to practice medicine and surgery or 

15 osteopathic medicine and surgery, or otherwise li16 censed to legally perform an abortion. 

17 ‘‘(7) POST-FERTILIZATION AGE.—The term ‘post18 fertilization age’ means the age of the unborn child as 

19 calculated from the fusion of a human spermatozoon 

20 with a human ovum. 

21 ‘‘(8) PROBABLE POST-FERTILIZATION AGE OF

22 THE UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘probable post-fer23 tilization age of the unborn child’ means what, in 

24 reasonable medical judgment, will with reasonable 

25 probability be the postfertilization age of the unborn 


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1 child at the time the abortion is planned to be per2 formed or induced. 

3 ‘‘(9) REASONABLE MEDICAL JUDGMENT.—The 

4 term ‘reasonable medical judgment’ means a medical 

5 judgment that would be made by a reasonably pru6 dent physician, knowledgeable about the case and the 

7 treatment possibilities with respect to the medical 

8 conditions involved. 

9 ‘‘(10) UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 

10 means an individual organism of the species homo 

11 sapiens, beginning at fertilization, until the point of 

12 being born alive as defined in section 8(b) of title 1. 

13 ‘‘(11) UNEMANCIPATED MINOR.—The term 

14 ‘unemancipated minor’ means a minor who is subject 

15 to the control, authority, and supervision of a parent 

16 or guardian, as determined under the law of the State 

17 in which the minor resides. 

18 ‘‘(12) WOMAN.—The term ‘woman’ means a fe19 male human being whether or not she has reached the 

20 age of majority.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

22 the beginning of chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code, 

23 is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘1532. District of Columbia pain-capable unborn child protection.’’. 

24 (c) CHAPTER HEADING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) CHAPTER HEADING IN CHAPTER.—The chap2 ter heading for chapter 74 of title 18, United States 

3 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘PARTIAL-BIRTH 

4 ABORTIONS’’ and inserting ‘‘ABORTIONS’’. 

5 (2) TABLE OF CHAPTERS FOR PART I.—The item 

6 relating to chapter 74 in the table of chapters at the 

7 beginning of part I of title 18, United States Code, 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘Partial-Birth Abortions’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘Abortions’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 461 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3803 

[Report No. 112–640, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect 

Columbia, and for other purposes. pain-capable unborn children in the District of 

JULY 31, 2012 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

JULY 31, 2012 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

printed House on the State of the Union and ordered to be discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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