II 

Calendar No. 236 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3504 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 

Received; read the first time 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 


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

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

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

4 all the protections of such laws. 

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

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

7 same claim to the protection of the law that would 

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

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

10 and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within 

11 its care. 

12 SEC. 3. BORN-ALIVE INFANTS PROTECTION. 

13 (a) REQUIREMENTS PERTAINING TO BORN-ALIVE

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

15 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1531 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 1532. Requirements pertaining to born-alive abor18 tion survivors 

19 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH CARE PRACTI20 TIONERS.—In the case of an abortion or attempted abor21 tion that results in a child born alive (as defined in section 

22 8 of title 1, United States Code (commonly known as the 

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

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

25 ADMISSION TO A HOSPITAL.—Any health care practiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Sep 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3504.PCS H3504

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1 tioner present at the time the child is born alive 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) exercise the same degree of profes4 sional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the 

5 life and health of the child as a reasonably dili6 gent and conscientious health care practitioner 

7 would render to any other child born alive at 

8 the same gestational age; and 

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

10 and diligence required under subparagraph (A), 

11 ensure that the child born alive is immediately 

12 transported and admitted to a hospital. 

13 ‘‘(2) MANDATORY REPORTING OF VIOLA14 TIONS.—A health care practitioner or any employee 

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

16 clinic who has knowledge of a failure to comply with 

17 the requirements of paragraph (1) shall immediately 

18 report the failure to an appropriate State or Federal 

19 law enforcement agency, or to both. 

20 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.— 

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

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

23 not more than 5 years, or both. 

24 ‘‘(2) INTENTIONAL KILLING OF CHILD BORN

25 ALIVE.—Whoever intentionally performs or attempts 


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

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

3 under section 1111 of this title for intentionally kill4 ing or attempting to kill a human being. 

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

6 born alive described under subsection (a) may not be pros7 ecuted under this section, for conspiracy to violate this 

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

9 based on such a violation. 

10 ‘‘(d) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 

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

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

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

14 upon whom the abortion was performed or at15 tempted may, in a civil action against any person 

16 who committed the violation, obtain appropriate re17 lief. 

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

19 in a civil action under this subsection includes— 

20 ‘‘(A) objectively verifiable money damage 

21 for all injuries, psychological and physical, occa22 sioned by the violation of subsection (a); 

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

24 the cost of the abortion or attempted abortion; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) punitive damages. 

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

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

4 prevailing plaintiff in a civil action under this sub5 section. 

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

7 defendant in a civil action under this subsection pre8 vails and the court finds that the plaintiff’s suit was 

9 frivolous, the court shall award a reasonable attor10 ney’s fee in favor of the defendant against the plain11 tiff. 

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

13 definitions apply: 

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

15 the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, 

16 drug, or any other substance or device— 

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

18 of a woman known to be pregnant; or 

19 ‘‘(B) to intentionally terminate the preg20 nancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with 

21 an intention other than— 

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

23 birth and preserve the life and health of 

24 the child born alive; or 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) ATTEMPT.—The term ‘attempt’, with re2 spect to an abortion, means conduct that, under the 

3 circumstances as the actor believes them to be, con4 stitutes a substantial step in a course of conduct 

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

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

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

8 by inserting after the item pertaining to section 1531 the 

9 following: 

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

Passed the House of Representatives September 18, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 236 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3504 

AN ACT 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit 

who survives an abortion or attempted abortion. the proper degree of care in the case of a child a health care practitioner from failing to exercise 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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