I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 649 
To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and the 
opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent 
to receive an abortion. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2009 
Mr. JORDAN of Ohio (for himself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. 
BOOZMAN, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. 
PITTS, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mrs. SCHMIDT, Mr. INGLIS, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. 
WESTMORELAND, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. TERRY, Ms. FOXX, Mr. 
MCHENRY, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. LATTA, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. ROGERS of 
Alabama, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. CAO, Mr. LINDER, 
Mr. POSEY, Mr. HARPER, Mr. OLSON, Mr. GINGREY of Georgia, Mr. 
PRICE of Georgia, Ms. FALLIN, Mr. HERGER, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. CANTOR, 
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. 
BISHOP of Utah, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. PENCE, Mr. 
MARCHANT, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. 
BARTLETT, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. FORTENBERRY, and Mr. SEN-
SENBRENNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an 
ultrasound and the opportunity to review the ultrasound 
before giving informed consent to receive an abortion. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ultrasound Informed 
Consent Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 
ACT. 
The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘TITLE XXX—INFORMED 
CONSENT 
‘‘SEC. 3001. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this title: 
‘‘(1) ABORTION.—The term ‘abortion’ means 
the intentional use or prescription of any instru-
ment, medicine, drug, or any other substance or de-
vice or method to terminate the life of an unborn 
child, or to terminate the pregnancy of a woman 
known to be pregnant with an intention other 
than— 
‘‘(A) to produce a live birth and preserve 
the life and health of the child after live birth; 
or 
‘‘(B) to remove an ectopic pregnancy, or to 
remove a dead unborn child who died as the re-
sult of a spontaneous abortion, accidental trau-
ma, or a criminal assault on the pregnant fe-
male or her unborn child. 
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‘‘(2) ABORTION PROVIDER.—The term ‘abortion 
provider’ means any person legally qualified to per-
form an abortion under applicable Federal and State 
laws. 
‘‘(3) UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 
means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any 
stage of development prior to birth. 
‘‘(4) WOMAN.—The term ‘woman’ means a fe-
male human being whether or not she has reached 
the age of majority. 
‘‘(5) 
UNEMANCIPATED
MINOR.—The 
term 
‘unemancipated minor’ means a minor who is sub-
ject to the control, authority, and supervision of his 
or her parents or guardians, as determined under 
State law. 
‘‘SEC. 3002. REQUIREMENT OF INFORMED CONSENT. 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT
OF
COMPLIANCE
BY
PRO-
VIDERS.—Any abortion provider in or affecting interstate 
or foreign commerce, who knowingly performs any abor-
tion, shall comply with the requirements of this title. 
‘‘(b) 
PERFORMANCE
AND
REVIEW
OF 
ULTRASOUND.—Prior to a woman giving informed con-
sent to having any part of an abortion performed, the 
abortion provider who is to perform the abortion, or cer-
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tified technician working in conjunction with the provider, 
shall— 
‘‘(1) perform an obstetric ultrasound on the 
pregnant woman; 
‘‘(2) provide an explanation of the results of the 
ultrasound; 
‘‘(3) display the ultrasound images so that the 
pregnant woman may view them; and 
‘‘(4) provide a medical description of the 
ultrasound images, which shall include the dimen-
sions of the embryo or fetus, cardiac activity if 
present and viable, and the presence of external 
members and internal organs, if present and 
viewable. 
‘‘(c) NO REQUIREMENT TO VIEW ULTRASOUND IM-
AGES.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to re-
quire a woman to view the ultrasound images. Neither the 
abortion provider nor the woman shall be subject to any 
penalty if she refuses to look at the presented ultrasound 
images. 
‘‘SEC. 3003. EXCEPTION FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of section 3002 
shall not apply to an abortion provider in the case that 
the abortion is necessary to save the life of a mother whose 
life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, 
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or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical 
condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon a determination by 
an abortion provider under subsection (a) that an 
abortion is necessary to save the life of a mother, 
such provider shall certify the specific medical condi-
tions that support such determination and include 
such certification in the medical file of the pregnant 
woman. 
‘‘(2) FALSE
STATEMENTS.—An abortion pro-
vider who willfully falsifies a certification under 
paragraph (1) shall be subject to all the penalties 
provided for under section 3004 for failure to com-
ply with this title. 
‘‘SEC. 3004. PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An abortion provider who will-
fully fails to comply with the provisions of this title shall 
be subject to civil penalties in accordance with this section 
in an appropriate Federal court. 
‘‘(b) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—The Attorney 
General may commence a civil action under this section. 
‘‘(c) FIRST OFFENSE.—Upon a finding by a court 
that a respondent in an action commenced under this sec-
tion has knowingly violated a provision of this title, the 
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court shall notify the appropriate State medical licensing 
authority and shall assess a civil penalty against the re-
spondent in an amount not to exceed $100,000. 
‘‘(d) SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES.—Upon 
a finding by a court that the respondent in an action com-
menced under this section has knowingly violated a provi-
sion of this title and the respondent has been found to 
have knowingly violated a provision of this title on a prior 
occasion, the court shall notify the appropriate State med-
ical licensing authority and shall assess a civil penalty 
against the respondent in an amount not to exceed 
$250,000. 
‘‘(e) PRIVATE
RIGHT
OF
ACTION.—A pregnant 
woman upon whom an abortion has been performed in vio-
lation of this title, or the parent or legal guardian of such 
a woman if she is an unemancipated minor, may com-
mence a civil action against the abortion provider for any 
willful violation of this title for actual and punitive dam-
ages.’’. 
SEC. 3. PREEMPTION. 
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 
Act shall be construed to preempt any provision of State 
law to the extent that such State law establishes, imple-
ments, or continues in effect greater disclosure require-
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ments regarding abortion than those provided under this 
Act and the amendments made by this Act. 
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 
The provisions of this Act shall be severable. If any 
provision of this Act, or any application thereof, is found 
unconstitutional, that finding shall not affect any provi-
sion or application of the Act not so adjudicated. 
Æ 
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