I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5167 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination by abortion 

against an unborn child on the basis of Turner syndrome. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 8, 2023 

Mr. FEENSTRA (for himself, Mr. BANKS, and Mrs. MILLER of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination by abortion against an unborn child on the basis 

of Turner syndrome. 

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 ‘‘Protecting Girls with 

5 Turner Syndrome Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DISCRIMINATION BY ABORTION AGAINST AN UN2 BORN CHILD ON THE BASIS OF TURNER SYN3 DROME PROHIBITED. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘§ 250. Discrimination by abortion against an unborn 

8 child on the basis of Turner syndrome 

9 prohibited 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

12 the act of using or prescribing any instrument, med13 icine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means 

14 with the intent to— 

15 ‘‘(A) kill the unborn child of a woman 

16 known to be pregnant; or 

17 ‘‘(B) terminate the pregnancy of a woman 

18 known to be pregnant, with an intention other 

19 than— 

20 ‘‘(i) to produce a live birth and pre21 serve the life and health of the child born 

22 alive; 

23 ‘‘(ii) to save the life of the pregnant 

24 woman; or 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) TURNER SYNDROME.—The term ‘Turner 

2 syndrome’ means a chromosomal disorder associated 

3 with— 

4 ‘‘(A) a missing X chromosome; or 

5 ‘‘(B) a partially missing X chromosome. 

6 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED PLAINTIFF.—The term ‘quali7 fied plaintiff’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) a woman upon whom an abortion is 

9 performed or attempted in violation of this sec10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(B) a maternal grandparent of the un12 born child if the woman upon whom an abortion 

13 is performed or attempted in violation of this 

14 section is an unemancipated minor; 

15 ‘‘(C) the father of an unborn child who is 

16 the subject of an abortion performed or at17 tempted in violation of this section unless the 

18 pregnancy or abortion resulted from the crimi19 nal conduct of the father; or 

20 ‘‘(D) the Attorney General. 

21 ‘‘(4) UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 

22 means an individual of the species homo sapiens 

23 from the beginning of the biological development of 

24 that individual, including fertilization, until the point 


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

2 1. 

3 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful to— 

4 ‘‘(1) perform an abortion— 

5 ‘‘(A) with the knowledge that a pregnant 

6 woman is seeking an abortion, in whole or in 

7 part, on the basis of— 

8 ‘‘(i) a test result indicating that the 

9 unborn child has Turner syndrome; 

10 ‘‘(ii) a prenatal diagnosis that the un11 born child has Turner syndrome; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) any other reason to believe that 

13 the unborn child has or may have Turner 

14 syndrome; or 

15 ‘‘(B) without first— 

16 ‘‘(i) asking the pregnant woman if she 

17 is aware of any test results, prenatal diag18 nosis, or any other evidence that the un19 born child has or may have Turner syn20 drome; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) if the woman is aware that the 

22 unborn child has or may have Turner syn23 drome, informing the pregnant woman of 

24 the prohibitions on abortion under this sec25 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(2) use force or the threat of force to inten2 tionally injure or intimidate any person for the pur3 pose of coercing an abortion described in paragraph 

4 (1)(A); 

5 ‘‘(3) solicit or accept funds for the performance 

6 of an abortion described in paragraph (1)(A); or 

7 ‘‘(4) knowingly transport a woman into the 

8 United States or across a State line for the purpose 

9 of obtaining an abortion described in paragraph 

10 (1)(A). 

11 ‘‘(c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person that violates, 

12 or attempts to violate, subsection (b) shall be fined under 

13 this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 

14 ‘‘(d) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) CIVIL ACTION BY WOMAN ON WHOM ABOR16 TION IS PERFORMED.—A woman upon whom an 

17 abortion has been performed or attempted in viola18 tion of subsection (b)(2) may bring a civil action in 

19 an appropriate court against any person who en20 gaged in a violation of subsection (b)(2) to obtain 

21 appropriate relief. 

22 ‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTION BY RELATIVES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraph (B), the father of an unborn 

25 child who is the subject of an abortion perVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5167.IH H5167

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1 formed or attempted in violation of subsection 

2 (b), or a maternal grandparent of the unborn 

3 child if the pregnant woman is an 

4 unemancipated minor, may bring a civil action 

5 in an appropriate court against any person who 

6 engaged in the violation to obtain appropriate 

7 relief. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 

9 shall not apply if— 

10 ‘‘(i) the pregnancy or abortion re11 sulted from the criminal conduct of the 

12 plaintiff described in subparagraph (A); or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the plaintiff described in sub14 paragraph (A) consented to the abortion. 

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

16 in a civil action under this subsection includes— 

17 ‘‘(A) objectively verifiable money damages 

18 for all injuries, psychological and physical, in19 cluding loss of companionship and support, oc20 casioned by the violation of this section; and 

21 ‘‘(B) punitive damages. 

22 ‘‘(4) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—A qualified plaintiff 

23 may bring a civil action in an appropriate court to 

24 obtain injunctive relief to prevent an abortion proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5167.IH H5167

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1 vider from performing or attempting further abor2 tions in violation of this section. 

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

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

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

6 under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(e) BAR TO PROSECUTION.—A woman upon whom 

8 an abortion is performed may not be prosecuted or held 

9 civilly liable for any violation of this section or for a con10 spiracy to violate this section. 

11 ‘‘(f) LOSS OF FEDERAL FUNDING.—A violation of 

12 subsection (b) shall be deemed discrimination for the pur13 poses of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

14 U.S.C. 794). 

15 ‘‘(g) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A physician, physician’s as17 sistant, nurse, counselor, or other medical or mental 

18 health professional shall report known or suspected 

19 violations of any of this section to appropriate law 

20 enforcement authorities. 

21 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who vio22 lates paragraph (1) shall be fined under this title, 

23 imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 

24 ‘‘(h) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—It shall be the 

25 duty of the district courts of the United States, the courts 


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1 of appeals of the United States, and the Supreme Court 

2 of the United States to advance on the docket and to expe3 dite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of any 

4 matter brought under this section. 

5 ‘‘(i) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY IN COURT PRO6 CEEDINGS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except to the extent the 

8 Constitution of the United States or other similarly 

9 compelling reason requires, in every civil or criminal 

10 action under this section, the court shall make such 

11 orders as are necessary to protect the anonymity of 

12 any woman upon whom an abortion has been per13 formed or attempted if she does not give her written 

14 consent to such disclosure. Such orders may be 

15 made upon motion, but shall be made sua sponte if 

16 not otherwise sought by a party. 

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

18 COUNSEL.—The court shall issue appropriate orders 

19 to the parties, witnesses, and counsel and shall di20 rect the sealing of the record and exclusion of indi21 viduals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to the ex22 tent necessary to safeguard the identity of a woman 

23 described in paragraph (1) from public disclosure. 

24 ‘‘(3) PSEUDONYM REQUIRED.—In the absence 

25 of written consent of the woman upon whom an 


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1 abortion has been performed or attempted, any 

2 party, other than a public official, who brings an ac3 tion under this section shall do so under a pseu4 donym. 

5 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—This subsection may not be 

6 construed to conceal the identity of the plaintiff or 

7 of witnesses from the defendant or from attorneys 

8 for the defendant.’’. 

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

10 of chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘250. Discrimination by abortion against an unborn child on the basis of Turner 

syndrome prohibited.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. SEVERABILITY. 

13 If any portion of this Act, or the amendments made 

14 by this Act, or the application thereof to any person or 

15 circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not af16 fect the portions or applications of this Act which can be 

17 given effect without the invalid portion or application. 

Æ 


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