II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 220 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a health care practitioner 

from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a 

child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24, 2017 

Mr. SASSE (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. 

BURR, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. DAINES, Mr. ENZI, 

Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. MORAN, Mr. 

PERDUE, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

SCOTT, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. ISAKSON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a health 

care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an 

abortion or attempted 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 ‘‘Born-Alive Abortion 

5 Survivors Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) If an abortion results in the live birth of an 

4 infant, the infant is a legal person for all purposes 

5 under the laws of the United States, and entitled to 

6 all the protections of such laws. 

7 (2) Any infant born alive after an abortion or 

8 within a hospital, clinic, or other facility has the 

9 same claim to the protection of the law that would 

10 arise for any newborn, or for any person who comes 

11 to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening 

12 and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within 

13 its care. 

14 SEC. 3. BORN-ALIVE INFANTS PROTECTION. 

15 (a) REQUIREMENTS PERTAINING TO BORN-ALIVE

16 ABORTION SURVIVORS.—Chapter 74 of title 18, United 

17 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1531 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 1532. Requirements pertaining to born-alive abor20 tion survivors 

21 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH CARE PRACTI22 TIONERS.—In the case of an abortion or attempted abor23 tion that results in a child born alive (as defined in section 

24 8 of title 1, United States Code (commonly known as the 

25 ‘Born-Alive Infants Protection Act’)): 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEGREE OF CARE REQUIRED; IMMEDIATE

2 ADMISSION TO A HOSPITAL.—Any health care practi3 tioner present at the time the child is born alive 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) exercise the same degree of profes6 sional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the 

7 life and health of the child as a reasonably dili8 gent and conscientious health care practitioner 

9 would render to any other child born alive at 

10 the same gestational age; and 

11 ‘‘(B) following the exercise of skill, care, 

12 and diligence required under subparagraph (A), 

13 ensure that the child born alive is immediately 

14 transported and admitted to a hospital. 

15 ‘‘(2) MANDATORY REPORTING OF VIOLA16 TIONS.—A health care practitioner or any employee 

17 of a hospital, a physician’s office, or an abortion 

18 clinic who has knowledge of a failure to comply with 

19 the requirements of paragraph (1) shall immediately 

20 report the failure to an appropriate State or Federal 

21 law enforcement agency, or to both. 

22 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever violates subsection 

24 (a) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for 

25 not more than 5 years, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INTENTIONAL KILLING OF CHILD BORN

2 ALIVE.—Whoever intentionally performs or attempts 

3 to perform an overt act that kills a child born alive 

4 described under subsection (a), shall be punished as 

5 under section 1111 of this title for intentionally kill6 ing or attempting to kill a human being. 

7 ‘‘(c) BAR TO PROSECUTION.—The mother of a child 

8 born alive described under subsection (a) may not be pros9 ecuted under this section, for conspiracy to violate this 

10 section, or for an offense under section 3 or 4 of this title 

11 based on such a violation. 

12 ‘‘(d) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) CIVIL ACTION BY A WOMAN ON WHOM AN

14 ABORTION IS PERFORMED.—If a child is born alive 

15 and there is a violation of subsection (a), the woman 

16 upon whom the abortion was performed or at17 tempted may, in a civil action against any person 

18 who committed the violation, obtain appropriate re19 lief. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE RELIEF.—Appropriate relief 

21 in a civil action under this subsection includes— 

22 ‘‘(A) objectively verifiable money damage 

23 for all injuries, psychological and physical, occa24 sioned by the violation of subsection (a); 


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1 ‘‘(B) statutory damages equal to 3 times 

2 the cost of the abortion or attempted abortion; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(C) punitive damages. 

5 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEY’S FEE FOR PLAINTIFF.—The 

6 court shall award a reasonable attorney’s fee to a 

7 prevailing plaintiff in a civil action under this sub8 section. 

9 ‘‘(4) ATTORNEY’S FEE FOR DEFENDANT.—If a 

10 defendant in a civil action under this subsection pre11 vails and the court finds that the plaintiff’s suit was 

12 frivolous, the court shall award a reasonable attor13 ney’s fee in favor of the defendant against the plain14 tiff. 

15 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following 

16 definitions apply: 

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

18 the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, 

19 drug, or any other substance or device— 

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

21 of a woman known to be pregnant; or 

22 ‘‘(B) to intentionally terminate the preg23 nancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with 

24 an intention other than— 


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1 ‘‘(i) after viability, to produce a live 

2 birth and preserve the life and health of 

3 the child born alive; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) to remove a dead unborn child. 

5 ‘‘(2) ATTEMPT.—The term ‘attempt’, with re6 spect to an abortion, means conduct that, under the 

7 circumstances as the actor believes them to be, con8 stitutes a substantial step in a course of conduct 

9 planned to culminate in performing an abortion.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 for chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

12 by inserting after the item pertaining to section 1531 the 

13 following: 

‘‘1532. Requirements pertaining to born-alive abortion survivors.’’. 

14 (c) CHAPTER HEADING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) CHAPTER HEADING IN CHAPTER.—The 

16 chapter heading for chapter 74 of title 18, United 

17 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Partial18 Birth Abortions’’ and inserting ‘‘Abortions’’. 

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

20 item relating to chapter 74 in the table of chapters 

21 at the beginning of part I of title 18, United States 

22 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Partial-Birth Abor23 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘Abortions’’. 

Æ 


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