Heartbeat Protection Act of 2023

Subjects: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:  <p><b>Heartbeat Protection Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill makes it a crime for a physician to knowingly perform an abortion (1) without determining whether the unborn child has a detectable heartbeat, (2) without informing the mother of the results, or (3) after determining that a unborn child has a detectable heartbeat.</p> <p>A physician who performs a prohibited abortion is subject to criminal penalties&#8212;a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.</p> <p>The bill provides an exception for an abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical (but not psychological or emotional) disorder, illness, or condition. It also provides exceptions for certain pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. </p> <p>A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 175 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 175

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit abortion in cases 
                 where a fetal heartbeat is detectable.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2023

 Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mrs. 
 Cammack, Mr. Williams of Texas, Mr. Mooney, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Duncan, 
   Mr. Banks, Mr. Carl, Mr. Hudson, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. 
 Lamborn, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Tiffany, Mrs. 
  Boebert, Mr. Mast, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Feenstra, Mr. 
     Griffith, Mr. Allen, Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania, Mr. Graves of 
 Louisiana, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Burchett, Mr. Cline, Mr. Weber of Texas, 
    Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Estes, Mr. Babin, Mr. Bergman, Mr. Rose, Mr. 
Arrington, Mr. Webster of Florida, Mr. Kelly of Mississippi, Mr. Posey, 
   Mr. Kustoff, Mr. Biggs, Mr. Jackson of Texas, Mr. Moolenaar, Mrs. 
   Harshbarger, Mr. Luetkemeyer, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Austin Scott of 
   Georgia, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Fallon, Mr. Dunn of 
 Florida, Mr. Clyde, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Harris, Mr. Good 
of Virginia, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Langworthy, Mr. Wenstrup, Mr. Baird, Mrs. 
 Fischbach, Mrs. Lesko, Mrs. Miller of West Virginia, Mr. Smucker, Mr. 
   Guthrie, and Mr. Latta) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit abortion in cases 
                 where a fetal heartbeat is detectable.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Heartbeat Protection Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ABORTIONS PROHIBITED WITHOUT A CHECK FOR FETAL HEARTBEAT, OR IF 
              A FETAL HEARTBEAT IS DETECTABLE.

    (a) Abortions Prohibited Without a Check for Fetal Heartbeat, or if 
a Fetal Heartbeat Is Detectable.--Chapter 74 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in the chapter heading, by striking ``PARTIAL-BIRTH'';
            (2) by inserting after section 1531 the following:
``Sec. 1532. Abortions prohibited without a check for fetal heartbeat, 
              or if a fetal heartbeat is detectable
    ``(a) Offense.--Any physician who knowingly performs an abortion 
and thereby kills a human unborn child--
            ``(1) without determining, according to standard medical 
        practice, whether the unborn child has a detectable heartbeat;
            ``(2) without informing the mother of the results of that 
        determination; or
            ``(3) after determining, according to standard medical 
        practice, that the unborn child has a detectable heartbeat,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or 
both. This subsection does not apply to an abortion that is necessary 
to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical 
disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-
endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy 
itself, but not including psychological or emotional conditions.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply if--
            ``(1) in reasonable medical judgment, the abortion is 
        necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman whose life is 
        endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or 
        physical injury, including a life-endangering physical 
        condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, but 
        not including psychological or emotional conditions;
            ``(2) the pregnancy is the result of rape against an adult 
        woman, and at least 48 hours prior to the abortion--
                    ``(A) she has obtained counseling for the rape; or
                    ``(B) she has obtained medical treatment for the 
                rape or an injury related to the rape; or
            ``(3) the pregnancy is a result of rape against a minor or 
        incest against a minor, and the rape or incest has been 
        reported at any time prior to the abortion to either--
                    ``(A) a government agency legally authorized to act 
                on reports of child abuse; or
                    ``(B) a law enforcement agency.
    ``(c) Documentation Requirements.--
            ``(1) Documentation pertaining to adults.--A physician who 
        performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception 
        provided by subsection (b)(2) shall, prior to performing the 
        abortion, place in the patient medical file documentation from 
        a hospital licensed by the State or operated under authority of 
        a Federal agency, a medical clinic licensed by the State or 
        operated under authority of a Federal agency, from a personal 
        physician licensed by the State, a counselor licensed by the 
        State, or a victim's rights advocate provided by a law 
        enforcement agency that the adult woman seeking the abortion 
        obtained medical treatment or counseling for the rape or an 
        injury related to the rape.
            ``(2) Documentation pertaining to minors.--A physician who 
        performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception 
        provided by subsection (b)(3) shall, prior to performing the 
        abortion, place in the patient medical file documentation from 
        a government agency legally authorized to act on reports of 
        child abuse that the rape or incest was reported prior to the 
        abortion; or, as an alternative, documentation from a law 
        enforcement agency that the rape or incest was reported prior 
        to the abortion.
    ``(d) Requirement for Data Retention.--Paragraph (j)(2) of section 
164.530 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, shall apply to 
documentation required to be placed in a patient's medical file 
pursuant to paragraph (6) of such section and a consent form required 
to be retained in a patient's medical file pursuant to paragraph (7) of 
such section in the same manner and to the same extent as such 
paragraph applies to documentation required by paragraph (j)(1) of such 
section.
    ``(e) Additional Exceptions and Requirements.--
            ``(1) Exclusion of certain facilities.--Notwithstanding the 
        definitions set forth in subsection (j), the counseling 
        described in subsection (b)(2)(A) and subsection (c)(1) or 
        medical treatment may not be provided by a facility that 
        performs abortions (unless that facility is a hospital).
            ``(2) Rule of construction in cases of reports to law 
        enforcement.--The requirements of subsection (b)(2) do not 
        apply if the rape has been reported at any time prior to the 
        abortion to a law enforcement agency or Department of Defense 
        victim assistance personnel.
    ``(f) Defendant May Seek Hearing.--A defendant indicted for an 
offense under this section may seek a hearing before the State Medical 
Board on whether the physician's conduct was necessary to save the life 
of the mother whose life was endangered by a physical disorder, 
physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering 
physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, but 
not including psychological or emotional conditions. The findings on 
that issue are admissible on that issue at the trial of the defendant. 
Upon a motion of the defendant, the court shall delay the beginning of 
the trial for not more than 30 days to permit such a hearing to take 
place.
    ``(g) No Liability for the Mother on Whom Abortion Is Performed.--A 
mother upon whom an abortion is performed may not be prosecuted under 
this section, for a conspiracy to violate this section, or for an 
offense under section 2, 3, or 4 of this title based on a violation of 
this section.
    ``(h) Requirement for Data Retention.--The physician shall include 
in the medical file of the mother documentation of the determination, 
according to standard medical practice, of whether the unborn child has 
a detectable heartbeat, the results of that determination, notification 
of the mother of those results, and any information entered into 
evidence in any proceedings under subsection (b). Paragraph (j)(2) of 
section 164.530 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, shall apply 
to such documentation.
    ``(i) Severability.--If any provision of this section or the 
application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to 
be invalid, the remainder of this section and the application of the 
provisions of the remainder to any person or circumstance shall not be 
affected thereby.
    ``(j) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `counseling' means counseling provided by a 
        counselor licensed by the State, or a victims rights advocate 
        provided by a law enforcement agency.
            ``(2) The term `medical treatment' means treatment provided 
        at a hospital licensed by the State or operated under authority 
        of a Federal agency, at a medical clinic licensed by the State 
        or operated under authority of a Federal agency, or from a 
        personal physician licensed by the State.
            ``(3) The term `abortion' means the use or prescription of 
        any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or 
        device--
                    ``(A) to intentionally kill the unborn child of a 
                woman known to be pregnant; or
                    ``(B) to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a 
                woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other 
                than--
                            ``(i) after viability to produce a live 
                        birth and preserve the life and health of the 
                        child born alive; or
                            ``(ii) to remove a dead unborn child.
            ``(4) The term `attempt', with respect to an abortion, 
        means conduct that, under the circumstances as the actor 
        believes them to be, constitutes a substantial step in a course 
        of conduct planned to culminate in performing an abortion.
            ``(5) The term `facility' means any medical or counseling 
        group, center or clinic and includes the entire legal entity, 
        including any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is 
        under common control with such facility.
            ``(6) The term `perform', with respect to an abortion, 
        includes inducing an abortion through a medical or chemical 
        intervention including writing a prescription for a drug or 
        device intended to result in an abortion.
            ``(7) The term `physician' means a person licensed to 
        practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and 
        surgery, or otherwise legally authorized to perform an 
        abortion.
            ``(8) The term `reasonable medical judgment' means a 
        medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent 
        physician, knowledgeable about the case and the treatment 
        possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved.
            ``(9) The term `unborn child' means an individual organism 
        of the species homo sapiens, beginning at fertilization, until 
        the point of being born alive as defined in section 8(b) of 
        title 1.
            ``(10) The term `woman' means a female human being whether 
        or not she has reached the age of majority.
    ``(k) Rules of Construction.--
            ``(1) Greater protections.--Nothing in this section may be 
        construed to pre-empt or limit any Federal, State, or local law 
        that provides greater protections for an unborn child than 
        those provided in this section.
            ``(2) Creation of recognition of right.--Nothing in this 
        section may be construed to create or recognize a right to 
        abortion or to make lawful an abortion that is unlawful on the 
        effective date of this section.''; and
            (3) in the table of sections, by inserting after the item 
        pertaining to section 1841 the following:

``1532. Abortions prohibited without a check for fetal heartbeat, or if 
                            a fetal heartbeat is detectable.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for part I of title 
18, United States Code, is amended, in the item relating to chapter 74, 
to read as follows:

``74. Abortions.............................................    1531''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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