I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4844 

To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and the 

opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent 

to receive an abortion. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 19, 2018 

Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. 

PEARCE, Mr. JONES, Mr. RUSSELL, Mr. LONG, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. FLORES, Mr. LATTA, Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia, Mr. 

BUCK, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, and Mr. PERRY) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce 

A BILL 

To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an 

ultrasound and the opportunity to review the ultrasound 

before giving informed consent to receive an abortion. 

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 ‘‘Ultrasound Informed 

5 Consent Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 

2 ACT. 

3 The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et 

4 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘TITLE XXXIV—INFORMED 

6 CONSENT 

7 ‘‘SEC. 3401. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this title: 

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

10 the intentional use or prescription of any instru11 ment, medicine, drug, substance, device, or method 

12 to terminate the life of an unborn child, or to termi13 nate the pregnancy of a woman known to be preg14 nant, with an intention other than— 

15 ‘‘(A) to produce a live birth and preserve 

16 the life and health of the child after live birth; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(B) to remove an ectopic pregnancy, or to 

19 remove a dead unborn child who died as the re20 sult of a spontaneous abortion, accidental trau21 ma, or a criminal assault on the pregnant fe22 male or her unborn child. 

23 ‘‘(2) ABORTION PROVIDER.—The term ‘abortion 

24 provider’ means any person legally qualified to per25 form an abortion under applicable Federal and State 

26 laws. 


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1 ‘‘(3) UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 

2 means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any 

3 stage of development prior to birth. 

4 ‘‘(4) UNEMANCIPATED MINOR.—The term 

5 ‘unemancipated minor’ means a minor who is sub6 ject to the control, authority, and supervision of his 

7 or her parent or guardian, as determined under 

8 State law. 

9 ‘‘(5) WOMAN.—The term ‘woman’ means a fe10 male human being whether or not she has reached 

11 the age of majority.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT OF INFORMED CONSENT. 

13 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF COMPLIANCE BY PRO14 VIDERS.—Any abortion provider in or affecting interstate 

15 or foreign commerce, who knowingly performs any abor16 tion, shall comply with the requirements of this title. 

17 ‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE AND REVIEW OF

18 ULTRASOUND.—Prior to a woman giving informed con19 sent to having any part of an abortion performed, the 

20 abortion provider who is to perform the abortion, or an 

21 agent under the supervision of the provider, shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) perform an obstetric ultrasound on the 

23 pregnant woman; 

24 ‘‘(2) provide a simultaneous explanation of 

25 what the ultrasound is depicting; 


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1 ‘‘(3) display the ultrasound images so that the 

2 pregnant woman may view them; and 

3 ‘‘(4) provide a complete medical description of 

4 the ultrasound images, which shall include all of the 

5 following: the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, 

6 cardiac activity if present and visible, and the pres7 ence of external members and internal organs if 

8 present and viewable. 

9 ‘‘(c) ABILITY TO TURN EYES AWAY.—Nothing in 

10 this section shall be construed to prevent a pregnant 

11 woman from turning her eyes away from the ultrasound 

12 images required to be displayed and described to her. Nei13 ther the abortion provider nor the pregnant woman shall 

14 be subject to any penalty under this title if the pregnant 

15 woman declines to look at the displayed ultrasound im16 ages.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. EXCEPTION FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. 

18 ‘‘(a) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of section 3402 

19 shall not apply to an abortion provider if the abortion is 

20 necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endan21 gered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical 

22 injury, including a life-endangering physical condition 

23 caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. 

24 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—Upon a determination by an 

25 abortion provider under subsection (a) that an abortion 


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1 is necessary to save the life of a mother, such provider 

2 shall include in the medical file of the pregnant woman 

3 a truthful and accurate certification of the specific medical 

4 circumstances that support such determination.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY. 

6 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

8 commence a civil action in Federal court under this 

9 section against any abortion provider who knowingly 

10 commits an act constituting a violation of this title 

11 for a penalty in an amount not to exceed— 

12 ‘‘(A) $100,000 for each such violation that 

13 is adjudicated in the first proceeding against 

14 such provider under this title; and 

15 ‘‘(B) $250,000 for each violation of this 

16 title that is adjudicated in a subsequent pro17 ceeding against such provider under this title. 

18 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Upon the assessment of 

19 a civil penalty under paragraph (1), the Attorney 

20 General shall notify the appropriate State medical li21 censing authority. 

22 ‘‘(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A woman upon 

23 whom an abortion has been performed in violation of this 

24 title may commence a civil action against the abortion pro25 vider for any violation of this title for actual and punitive 


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1 damages. For purposes of the preceding sentence, actual 

2 damages are objectively verifiable money damages for all 

3 injuries.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. PREEMPTION. 

5 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

6 Act shall be construed to preempt any provision of State 

7 law to the extent that such State law establishes, imple8 ments, or continues in effect disclosure requirements re9 garding abortion or penalties for failure to comply with 

10 such requirements that are more extensive than those pro11 vided under the amendment made by this Act. 

12 SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY. 

13 If any provision of this Act, or any application there14 of, is found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this 

15 Act and any application thereof shall not be affected by 

16 such finding. 

Æ 


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