109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 403

AMENDMENT

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

September 26, 2006.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 403) entitled 

‘‘An Act to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit 

taking minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions’’, do 

pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Interstate Abor3 tion Notification Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TRANSPORTATION OF MINORS IN CIRCUMVENTION 

5 OF CERTAIN LAWS RELATING TO ABORTION. 

6 Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

7 after chapter 117 the following: 

8 ‘‘CHAPTER 117A—TRANSPORTATION OF 

9 MINORS IN CIRCUMVENTION OF CER10 TAIN LAWS RELATING TO ABORTION

‘‘Sec 

‘‘2431. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws relating to 

abortion. 

‘‘2432. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws relating to 

abortion.
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1 ‘‘§ 2431. Transportation of minors in circumvention of 

2 certain laws relating to abortion 

3 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—

4 ‘‘(1) GENERALLY.—Except as provided in sub5 section (b), whoever knowingly transports a minor 

6 across a State line, with the intent that such minor 

7 obtain an abortion, and thereby in fact abridges the 

8 right of a parent under a law requiring parental in9 volvement in a minor’s abortion decision, in force in 

10 the State where the minor resides, shall be fined 

11 under this title or imprisoned not more than one 

12 year, or both. 

13 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this sub14 section, an abridgement of the right of a parent oc15 curs if an abortion is performed or induced on the 

16 minor, in a State or a foreign nation other than the 

17 State where the minor resides, without the parental 

18 consent or notification, or the judicial authorization, 

19 that would have been required by that law had the 

20 abortion been performed in the State where the minor 

21 resides. 

22 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) The prohibition of subsection (a) does not 

24 apply if the abortion was necessary to save the life of 

25 the minor because her life was endangered by a phys26 ical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, in-
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1 cluding a life endangering physical condition caused 

2 by or arising from the pregnancy itself. 

3 ‘‘(2) A minor transported in violation of this 

4 section, and any parent of that minor, may not be 

5 prosecuted or sued for a violation of this section, a 

6 conspiracy to violate this section, or an offense under 

7 section 2 or 3 based on a violation of this section. 

8 ‘‘(c) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—It is an affirmative de9 fense to a prosecution for an offense, or to a civil action, 

10 based on a violation of this section that the defendant—

11 ‘‘(1) reasonably believed, based on information 

12 the defendant obtained directly from a parent of the 

13 minor, that before the minor obtained the abortion, 

14 the parental consent or notification took place that 

15 would have been required by the law requiring paren16 tal involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, had 

17 the abortion been performed in the State where the 

18 minor resides; or 

19 ‘‘(2) was presented with documentation showing 

20 with a reasonable degree of certainty that a court in 

21 the minor’s State of residence waived any parental 

22 notification required by the laws of that State, or oth23 erwise authorized that the minor be allowed to pro24 cure an abortion. 
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1 ‘‘(d) CIVIL ACTION.—Any parent who suffers harm 

2 from a violation of subsection (a) may obtain appropriate 

3 relief in a civil action unless the parent has committed an 

4 act of incest with the minor subject to subsection (a). 

5 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section—

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘abortion’ means the use or pre7 scription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any 

8 other substance or device intentionally to terminate 

9 the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant, with 

10 an intention other than to increase the probability of 

11 a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child 

12 after live birth, to terminate an ectopic pregnancy, or 

13 to remove a dead unborn child who died as the result 

14 of a spontaneous abortion, accidental trauma or a 

15 criminal assault on the pregnant female or her un16 born child; 

17 ‘‘(2) the term a ‘law requiring parental involve18 ment in a minor’s abortion decision’ means a law—

19 ‘‘(A) requiring, before an abortion is per20 formed on a minor, either—

21 ‘‘(i) the notification to, or consent of, a 

22 parent of that minor; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) proceedings in a State court; and 

24 ‘‘(B) that does not provide as an alternative 

25 to the requirements described in subparagraph 
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1 (A) notification to or consent of any person or 

2 entity who is not described in that subpara3 graph; 

4 ‘‘(3) the term ‘minor’ means an individual who 

5 is not older than the maximum age requiring paren6 tal notification or consent, or proceedings in a State 

7 court, under the law requiring parental involvement 

8 in a minor’s abortion decision; 

9 ‘‘(4) the term ‘parent’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) a parent or guardian; 

11 ‘‘(B) a legal custodian; or 

12 ‘‘(C) a person standing in loco parentis who 

13 has care and control of the minor, and with 

14 whom the minor regularly resides, who is des15 ignated by the law requiring parental involve16 ment in the minor’s abortion decision as a per17 son to whom notification, or from whom consent, 

18 is required; and 

19 ‘‘(5) the term ‘State’ includes the District of Co20 lumbia and any commonwealth, possession, or other 

21 territory of the United States, and any Indian tribe 

22 or reservation. 
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1 ‘‘§ 2432. Transportation of minors in circumvention of 

2 certain laws relating to abortion 

3 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 2431(b)(2), whoever has 

4 committed an act of incest with a minor and knowingly 

5 transports the minor across a State line with the intent 

6 that such minor obtain an abortion, shall be fined under 

7 this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 

8 For the purposes of this section, the terms ‘State’, ‘minor’, 

9 and ‘abortion’ have, respectively, the definitions given those 

10 terms in section 2435.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. CHILD INTERSTATE ABORTION NOTIFICATION. 

12 Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

13 after chapter 117A the following: 

14 ‘‘CHAPTER 117B—CHILD INTERSTATE 

15 ABORTION NOTIFICATION

‘‘Sec 

‘‘2435. Child interstate abortion notification

16 ‘‘§ 2435. Child interstate abortion notification 

17 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—

18 ‘‘(1) GENERALLY.—A physician who knowingly 

19 performs or induces an abortion on a minor in viola20 tion of the requirements of this section shall be fined 

21 under this title or imprisoned not more than one 

22 year, or both. 

23 ‘‘(2) PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.—A physician 

24 who performs or induces an abortion on a minor who 
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1 is a resident of a State other than the State in which 

2 the abortion is performed must provide, or cause his 

3 or her agent to provide, at least 24 hours actual no4 tice to a parent of the minor before performing the 

5 abortion. If actual notice to such parent is not pos6 sible after a reasonable effort has been made, 24 hours 

7 constructive notice must be given to a parent. 

8 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The notification requirement of 

9 subsection (a)(2) does not apply if—

10 ‘‘(1) the abortion is performed or induced in a 

11 State that has, in force, a law requiring parental in12 volvement in a minor’s abortion decision and the 

13 physician complies with the requirements of that law; 

14 ‘‘(2) the physician is presented with documenta15 tion showing with a reasonable degree of certainty 

16 that a court in the minor’s State of residence has 

17 waived any parental notification required by the laws 

18 of that State, or has otherwise authorized that the 

19 minor be allowed to procure an abortion; 

20 ‘‘(3) the minor declares in a signed written state21 ment that she is the victim of sexual abuse, neglect, 

22 or physical abuse by a parent, and, before an abor23 tion is performed on the minor, the physician notifies 

24 the authorities specified to receive reports of child 

25 abuse or neglect by the law of the State in which the 
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1 minor resides of the known or suspected abuse or ne2 glect; 

3 ‘‘(4) the abortion is necessary to save the life of 

4 the minor because her life was endangered by a phys5 ical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, in6 cluding a life endangering physical condition caused 

7 by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or because in 

8 the reasonable medical judgment of the minor’s at9 tending physician, the delay in performing an abor10 tion occasioned by fulfilling the prior notification re11 quirement of subsection (a)(2) would cause a substan12 tial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily 

13 function of the minor arising from continued preg14 nancy, not including psychological or emotional con15 ditions, but an exception under this paragraph does 

16 not apply unless the attending physician or an 

17 agent of such physician, within 24 hours after com18 pletion of the abortion, notifies a parent in writing 

19 that an abortion was performed on the minor and of 

20 the circumstances that warranted invocation of this 

21 paragraph; or 

22 ‘‘(5) the minor is physically accompanied by a 

23 person who presents the physician or his agent with 

24 documentation showing with a reasonable degree of 
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1 certainty that he or she is in fact the parent of that 

2 minor. 

3 ‘‘(c) CIVIL ACTION.—Any parent who suffers harm 

4 from a violation of subsection (a) may obtain appropriate 

5 relief in a civil action unless the parent has committed an 

6 act of incest with the minor subject to subsection (a). 

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section—

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘abortion’ means the use or pre9 scription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any 

10 other substance or device intentionally to terminate 

11 the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant, with 

12 an intention other than to increase the probability of 

13 a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child 

14 after live birth, to terminate an ectopic pregnancy, or 

15 to remove a dead unborn child who died as the result 

16 of a spontaneous abortion, accidental trauma, or a 

17 criminal assault on the pregnant female or her un18 born child; 

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘actual notice’ means the giving of 

20 written notice directly, in person, by the physician or 

21 any agent of the physician; 

22 ‘‘(3) the term ‘constructive notice’ means notice 

23 that is given by certified mail, return receipt re24 quested, restricted delivery to the last known address 

25 of the person being notified, with delivery deemed to 
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1 have occurred 48 hours following noon on the next 

2 day subsequent to mailing on which regular mail de3 livery takes place, days on which mail is not deliv4 ered excluded; 

5 ‘‘(4) the term a ‘law requiring parental involve6 ment in a minor’s abortion decision’ means a law—

7 ‘‘(A) requiring, before an abortion is per8 formed on a minor, either—

9 ‘‘(i) the notification to, or consent of, a 

10 parent of that minor; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) proceedings in a State court; 

12 ‘‘(B) that does not provide as an alternative 

13 to the requirements described in subparagraph 

14 (A) notification to or consent of any person or 

15 entity who is not described in that subpara16 graph; 

17 ‘‘(5) the term ‘minor’ means an individual who 

18 is not older than 18 years and who is not emanci19 pated under State law; 

20 ‘‘(6) the term ‘parent’ means—

21 ‘‘(A) a parent or guardian; 

22 ‘‘(B) a legal custodian; or 

23 ‘‘(C) a person standing in loco parentis who 

24 has care and control of the minor, and with 

25 whom the minor regularly resides; 
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1 as determined by State law; 

2 ‘‘(7) the term ‘physician’ means a doctor of med3 icine legally authorized to practice medicine by the 

4 State in which such doctor practices medicine, or any 

5 other person legally empowered under State law to 

6 perform an abortion; and 

7 ‘‘(8) the term ‘State’ includes the District of Co8 lumbia and any commonwealth, possession, or other 

9 territory of the United States, and any Indian tribe 

10 or reservation.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. CLERICAL AMENDMENT. 

12 The table of chapters at the beginning of part I of title 

13 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 

14 item relating to chapter 117 the following new items:

‘‘117A. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws relating to abortion ............................. 2431

‘‘117B. Child interstate abortion notification ........................... 2435’’.

15 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 (a) The provisions of this Act shall be severable. If any 

17 provision of this Act, or any application thereof, is found 

18 unconstitutional, that finding shall not affect any provision 

19 or application of the Act not so adjudicated. 
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1 (b) This Act and the amendments made by this Act 

2 shall take effect 45 days after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act.

Attest:

Clerk.