I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8855 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect unborn children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 27, 2024 
Mr. GOOD of Virginia (for himself, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. DUNCAN, and Mr. 
ROSENDALE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees 
on the Judiciary, Natural Resources, Ways and Means, and Oversight 
and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect unborn 
children. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF 
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY FOR ENACT-
MENT. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The dignity of every human life is reflected 
in our Nation’s founding principles, ‘‘Life, Liberty 
and the Pursuit of Happiness’’. 
(2) Abortion ends the life of a person entitled 
to rights under the Constitution and the laws of this 
Nation. Since the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade, 
over 60,000,000 abortions have ended the lives of 
unborn children. Unborn children are among the 
most vulnerable and deserve full and equal protec-
tion of the law. 
(3) Congress exercised its authority under the 
Commerce Clause when it enacted the Partial-Birth 
Abortion Ban Act of 2003 and has used that author-
ity to enact other criminal statutes, such as the pro-
hibition on female genital mutilation (18 U.S.C. 
116). 
(4) The Supreme Court has broadly interpreted 
Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce, 
holding that it applies to activities with a substantial 
economic effect or that, cumulatively, affect com-
merce. See, e.g., NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel 
Corp., 301 U.S. 1 (1937); United States v. Darby, 
312 U.S. 657 (1941); and Wickard v. Filburn, 317 
U.S. 111 (1942). 
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(5) Abortion often involves commercial activity 
between states and across foreign borders. This in-
cludes the manufacturing and distribution of drugs 
that cause abortion and the use of equipment, in-
struments, and other supplies that have traveled in 
interstate commerce to perform surgical abortions. 
See, e.g., Scarborough v. United States, 431 U.S. 
563 (1977). 
(6) Article I, section 8, clause 1 of the Con-
stitution grants Congress broad spending powers, 
which Congress may attach conditions to: ‘‘The Con-
gress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Du-
ties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and pro-
vide for the common Defense and general Welfare of 
the United States’’. Furthermore, in clause 18 Con-
gress can ‘‘make all Laws which shall be necessary 
and proper for carrying into Executive the foregoing 
Powers . . .’’. The Supreme Court has upheld this 
generally in cases like South Dakota v. Dole and in 
regard to abortion in Harris v. McRae. 
(7) Through the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson 
Women’s Health Organization, handed down in June 
2022, the Supreme Court has redressed and cor-
rected the grave injustice which for 50 years had 
been perpetuated by their decisions in Roe v. Wade, 
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Doe v. Bolton, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, al-
lowing Congress and State legislators to enact legis-
lation to limit abortion as the legislators see fit. The 
Court declared that ‘‘the Constitution does not con-
fer a right to abortion’’ (Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s 
Health Org., 142 S. Ct. 2228, 2234 (2022)). 
(8) The Supreme Court has held that ‘‘[i]t is 
time to heed the Constitution and return the issue 
of abortion to the people’s elected representatives’’ 
(Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 
142 S. Ct. 2228, 2243 (2022)). 
(9) The Supreme Court has also held that ‘‘[a] 
law regulating abortion, like other health and wel-
fare laws, is entitled to a ‘strong presumption of va-
lidity.’ . . . It must be sustained if there is a rational 
basis on which the legislature could have thought 
that it would serve legitimate State interests . . . 
These legitimate interests include respect for and 
preservation of prenatal life at all stages of develop-
ment . . . ; the protection of maternal health and 
safety; the elimination of particularly gruesome or 
barbaric medical procedures; the preservation of the 
integrity of the medical profession; the mitigation of 
fetal pain; and the prevention of discrimination on 
the basis of race, sex, or disability.’’ (Dobbs v. Jack-
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son Women’s Health Organization, 142 S. Ct. at 
2239). 
(10) Medical and other authorities now know 
more about human prenatal development than ever 
before, including that life begins at the moment of 
conception and the child in a woman’s womb is a 
human being. 
(11) Even if there exists some degree of uncer-
tainty about an aspect of prenatal development, the 
Supreme Court has held that Congress and State 
legislatures retain ‘‘wide discretion to pass legisla-
tion’’ (Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. at 163). ‘‘The 
law need not give abortion doctors unfettered choice 
in the course of their medical practice, nor should it 
elevate their status above other physicians in the 
medical community’’ (Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 
at 163). ‘‘Medical uncertainty does not foreclose the 
exercise of legislative power in the abortion context 
any more than it does in other contexts’’ (Gonzales 
v. Carhart, 550 U.S. at 164). 
(12) Scientific evidence and personal testi-
monies document the massive harm that abortion 
causes to women. Abortion heightens the risk of 
mental health issues with studies showing that after 
an abortion women are 34 percent more likely to de-
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velop anxiety disorders, 37 percent more likely to de-
velop depression, 110 percent more likely to rely on 
alcohol use or abuse, 115 percent more likely to de-
velop suicidal behavior, and 220 percent more likely 
to take on marijuana use or abuse. As many as 60 
percent of women having an abortion experience 
some level of emotional distress afterwards, with 30 
percent being classified as severe distress. Abortion 
also includes risks to physical health such as heavy 
or persistent bleeding, damage to cervix, abdominal 
pain or cramping, scarring of uterine lining, breast 
cancer, future premature births or miscarriages, in-
fection or sepsis, placenta previa, perforation of 
uterus, damage to other organs, and even death. 
(13) More than 50 percent of abortions nation-
wide are committed by chemical abortion. Many of 
these abortions are obtained through telehealth visits 
and without the supervision of a licensed medical 
care professional. 
(14) Every State has enacted a ‘‘safe haven’’ 
law, relieving the responsibility of childcare for par-
ents who do not wish to care for a child. 
(15) Public attitudes favoring adoption have 
created a culture of adoption in the United States, 
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with many families waiting long periods of time to 
adopt newborn infants. 
(16) Abortion disproportionately affects minor-
ity communities. Black babies are 3.4 times more 
likely to be aborted as White babies. An estimated 
19,000,000 Black babies have been killed by abor-
tion since 1973. Minorities have been the unwitting 
victims of a hidden racist agenda of the abortion in-
dustry for over 50 years. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the intent of this Act to ensure 
that abortion is abolished and to protect the lives of un-
born children. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST CERTAIN ABORTION MEAS-
URES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 74 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by amending section 1531 to 
read as follows: 
‘‘§ 1531. Prohibition against certain abortion meas-
ures 
‘‘(a) CRIMINAL
OFFENSE.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, a licensed physician who— 
‘‘(1) in the circumstances described in sub-
section (d), intentionally performs or attempts to 
perform an abortion at any point after fertilization; 
or 
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‘‘(2) receives any Federal funds under any cov-
ered program that intentionally performs or at-
tempts to perform an abortion at any point after 
fertilization, 
‘‘ ‘shall be guilty of a class D felony.’. 
‘‘(b) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 
‘‘(1) WITHOUT
CONSENT.—A woman upon 
whom an abortion was performed or attempted, 
without consent or that occurred under duress, 
fraud, or inducement, may bring in an appropriate 
court a civil action against the licensed physician in 
violation of subsection (a) to obtain appropriate re-
lief. 
‘‘(2) REMEDY FOR PARENT OF A MINOR.—A 
parent of a minor upon whom an abortion has been 
performed or attempted may bring in an appropriate 
court a civil action against the licensed physician in 
violation of subsection (a) to obtain appropriate re-
lief. 
‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE RELIEF DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘appropriate relief’ includes— 
‘‘(A) money damages for all injuries, psy-
chological and physical, occasioned by the viola-
tion of this section; 
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‘‘(B) statutory damages equal to the 
amount that is three times the cost of the abor-
tion; 
‘‘(C) punitive damages; and 
‘‘(D) reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. 
‘‘(c) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—It is an affirmative 
defense to prosecution under this section if— 
‘‘(1) a licensed physician provides medical treat-
ment to a pregnant woman which results in the acci-
dental or unintentional injury or death to an unborn 
child; or 
‘‘(2) the abortion was performed with the pur-
pose of— 
‘‘(A) saving 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 in-
cluding psychological or emotional conditions; 
‘‘(B) removing a dead unborn child caused 
by miscarriage or stillbirth; or 
‘‘(C) removing an ectopic pregnancy. 
‘‘(d) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED.—For the pur-
poses of subsection (a), the circumstances described are 
that: 
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‘‘(1) The licensed physician performed an abor-
tion using a means, channel, facility, or instrumen-
tality of interstate or foreign commerce in further-
ance of or in connection with the conduct described 
in subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) A payment of any kind was made, directly 
or indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with 
the conduct described in subsection (a) using any 
means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of inter-
state or foreign commerce or in or affecting inter-
state or foreign commerce. 
‘‘(3) Any instrument, item, substance, or other 
object that has traveled in interstate or foreign com-
merce was used to perform the conduct described in 
subsection (a). 
‘‘(4) The conduct described in subsection (a) 
occurred within the special maritime and territorial 
jurisdiction of the United States, or any territory or 
possession of the United States. 
‘‘(5) The conduct described in subsection (a) 
otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or for-
eign commerce. 
‘‘(6) The conduct described in subsection (a) 
occurred in the District of Columbia. 
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‘‘(7) The conduct described in subsection (a) 
occurred in a health care facility owned or operated 
by the Federal Government. 
‘‘(e) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to— 
‘‘(A) authorize the criminal prosecution or 
conviction of a woman with the death of her 
own unborn child; 
‘‘(B) impose civil or criminal liability on a 
woman upon whom an abortion is performed or 
attempted; 
‘‘(C) 
prohibit 
the 
administration 
of 
misoprostol for the purposes of treatment of a 
miscarriage or stillbirth; or 
‘‘(D) prohibit the sale, use, prescription, or 
administration of contraception, if the contra-
ception is sold, used, prescribed or administered 
in accordance with manufacturer instructions or 
for non-life-ending purposes. 
‘‘(2) STATE
LEGISLATION.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to override or enforce a 
greater penalty established by State law with respect 
to the protection of the life of an unborn child at 
any point after fertilization. 
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‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ABORTION.—The term ‘abortion’ means 
the act of using, prescribing, administering, pro-
curing, or selling any instrument, medicine, drug, or 
any other substance, device, or means with the pur-
pose to terminate a pregnancy of a woman, with 
knowledge that the termination by any of those 
means will with reasonable likelihood cause the 
death of the unborn child. 
‘‘(2) CONTRACEPTION.—The term ‘contracep-
tion’ is a measure, drug, or chemical that prevents 
a pregnancy before fertilization. 
‘‘(3) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘covered 
program’ means: 
‘‘(A) The program for medical assistance 
established under title XIX of the Social Secu-
rity Act. 
‘‘(B) The State children’s health insurance 
program established under title XXI of the So-
cial Security Act. 
‘‘(C) The Indian Health Service. 
‘‘(D) The Veterans Health Administration. 
‘‘(E) The TRICARE program (as such 
program is defined in section 1072(7) of title 
10). 
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‘‘(F) Any project grant or contract for 
family planning services awarded under title X 
of the Public Health Services Act. 
‘‘(4) FERTILIZATION.—The term ‘fertilization’ 
means the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a 
human ovum. 
‘‘(5) LICENSED PHYSICIAN.—The term ‘licensed 
physician’ means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy 
legally authorized to practice medicine and surgery 
by the State in which the doctor performs such ac-
tivity, or any other individual legally authorized by 
the State to perform abortions. 
‘‘(6) MISCARRIAGE.—The term ‘miscarriage’ is 
the spontaneous loss of pregnancy before 20 weeks 
of pregnancy. 
‘‘(7) STILLBIRTH.—The term ‘stillbirth’ means 
the loss of a baby at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy. 
‘‘(8) UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 
means an individual organism of the species Homo 
sapiens from fertilization until live birth.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code, the item relat-
ing to section 1531 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘1531. Prohibition against certain abortion measures.’’. 
(c) CHAPTER HEADING.—The header of chapter 74 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking 
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‘‘PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS’’ and inserting 
‘‘ABORTIONS’’. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF ABORTIONS IN HEALTH PRO-
GRAMS THAT ACCEPT FEDERAL FUNDS. 
(a) MEDICAID.—Section 1902 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(uu) PROHIBITION ON STATE PLAN COVERAGE OF 
ABORTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), beginning 
on January 1 of the second year beginning on or after 
the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 
may not approve a State plan for medical assistance under 
this section, and shall revoke any such plan in effect as 
of such date, if such State plan provides payment for abor-
tion (as such term is defined in section 1531 of title 18) 
furnished at any point after fertilization, except to save 
the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by 
a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, in-
cluding a life-endangering physical condition caused by or 
arising from the pregnancy itself, but not including psy-
chological or emotional conditions.’’. 
(b) CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 2107(e)(1) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397gg(e)(1)) is 
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amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(U) Section 1902(uu) (relating to prohibi-
tion on payment for abortion).’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) LIMITATION ON FUNDS PROVIDED TO 
STATE.—Section 2105(c)(1) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1397ee(c)(1)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘the mother or if the pregnancy is 
the result of an act of rape or incest’’ and in-
serting ‘‘a pregnant woman whose life is endan-
gered 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) CHILD
HEALTH
ASSISTANCE
DE-
FINED.—Section 2110(a)(16) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1397jj(a)(16)) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘the mother or if the pregnancy 
is the result of an act of rape or incest’’ and 
inserting ‘‘a pregnant woman whose life is en-
dangered by a physical disorder, physical ill-
ness, or physical injury, including a life-endan-
gering physical condition caused by or arising 
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from the pregnancy itself, but not including 
psychological or emotional conditions’’. 
(c) AMENDMENT
TO INDIAN HEALTH CARE IM-
PROVEMENT ACT.—Title II of the Indian Health Care Im-
provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end a new section: 
‘‘SEC. 227. PROHIBITION AGAINST OFFERING AN ABORTION. 
‘‘Amounts appropriated to carry out this title may 
not be used to offer an abortion (as such term is defined 
in section 1531 of title 18, United States Code) at any 
point after fertilization, except to save the life of a preg-
nant woman whose life is endangered by a physical dis-
order, 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.’’. 
(d) AMENDMENT TO TITLE X.—Section 1008 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300a–6) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘PROHIBITION OF ABORTION 
‘‘SEC. 1008. 
‘‘(a) No funds may be made available under this title 
to any public or private entity if such entity or any affil-
iate or agency thereof offers abortions at any point after 
fertilization, except to save the life of a pregnant woman 
whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical 
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