depression, and increasing the risk of breast 
cancer in teens who abort their first pregnancy 
and delay childbearing, sex selection abortions 
are often targeted at fetuses simply because the 
fetus is female. As physicians who care for both 
the mother and her unborn child, the American 
Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gyne-
cologists vigorously opposes aborting fetuses be-
cause of their gender.’’ The President’s Council 
on Bioethics published a Working Paper stating 
the council’s belief that society’s respect for re-
productive freedom does not prohibit the regu-
lation or prohibition of ‘‘sex control’’, defined as 
the use of various medical technologies to 
choose the sex of one’s child. The publication 
expresses concern that ‘‘sex control might lead 
to . . . dehumanization and a new eugenics’’. 
(L)(i) Sex-selection abortions are often co-
erced, and therefore, the opposite of ‘‘choice’’. 
Researchers at the University of California at 
Berkeley and the University of California at 
San Francisco completed a study of Indian- 
American women who had undergone sex-selec-
tion abortions in the United States. The study 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
found that sex-selection abortions are often the 
product of violent coercion. 
(ii) Women who carried a female unborn 
child to term said they were subject to varying 
degrees of verbal and physical abuse, which 
may be to the point of actually inducing a sex- 
selection abortion. A woman may be denied 
food, water, and rest to induce an abortion 
where the family determines that the woman is 
carrying a female unborn child. Some women 
described being hit, pushed, choked and kicked 
in the abdomen in a husband’s attempt to forc-
ibly terminate a female unborn child. Preg-
nancy is already a vulnerable time for women; 
the most common cause of death for pregnant 
women in the United States is homicide, often 
at the hands of the unborn child’s father. 
(iii) The study concluded that sex selection 
can be the product of an abusive environment 
created by marital partners, an extended fam-
ily, or both. One-third of the women in the 
study reported that a history of family violence 
exacerbated when they did not give birth to a 
son. Notably, because the researchers had rea-
son to fear for the participants’ exposure to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
marital violence, all subjects received informa-
tion on local South Asian women’s organiza-
tions offering assistance for victims of family vi-
olence. The failure to bear a son is a serious 
matter; the birth of a daughter could result in 
violence or a brutal death for the mother at the 
hands of the father and mother-in-law. For ex-
ample, photojournalist Walter Astrada’s re-
nowned documentary tells the story of an In-
dian woman who was tortured and abandoned 
by her husband and mother-in-law for refusing 
to abort twin girls. Sex-selection abortion has 
long been considered a form of violence against 
women, and the study proved that both the 
women and the unborn daughter are victims of 
violence where sex-selection abortion is legally 
available but not sought by the mother. Forty 
percent of the women had terminated prior 
pregnancies when they learned that the unborn 
child was female. Of the women who discovered 
they were pregnant with a girl during the inter-
view period, 89 percent underwent a sex-selec-
tion abortion. Among those that did not abort 
their unborn daughters, 100 percent expressed 
ambivalence about prior sex-selection abortions. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
Further, 100 percent cited physical and psycho-
logical trauma from the past abortions as rea-
sons for not seeking another. Most tragically, 
100 percent expressed guilt, shame and sadness 
over their inability to ‘‘save’’ the daughters they 
had aborted. 
(iv) Coercive sex-selection abortions are 
suspected in other western countries as well. 
Following a 2012 investigation of sex-selection 
abortion in the United Kingdom, Dr. Tony Fal-
coner, President of the Royal College of Obstet-
rics and Gynaecology, raised the specter that 
women may be experiencing violence and coer-
cion to force sex-selection abortions. 
(v) A growing body of research documents 
the relationship between intimate partner vio-
lence and reproductive coercion. 
(M) Sex-selection abortion harms women. 
Researchers at the University of California 
found that women in the United States who un-
dergo sex-selection abortions are at increased 
risk for psychological and physical morbidity, 
documented by their descriptions of depression, 
anxiety, chronic pain, physical abuse, closely 
spaced pregnancies, and ‘‘forced abortions’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
Further, 100 percent of the study participants 
who chose to carry unborn baby girls cited 
physical and psychological trauma from past 
abortions as reasons for not seeking another. 
Similarly, Indian-Canadian counselor, Aruna 
Papp, stated publicly that in her 30 years of ex-
perience treating Indian-Canadian women, she 
has found that sex-selection abortion is the 
leading cause of mental illness among women in 
the Punjabi Health Services, Peel region, and 
the leading cause of depression and attempted 
suicide in the South Asian Settlement Services 
in Scarborough. Some of Papp’s patients ob-
tained their sex-selection abortions in Michigan 
and New York. Papp also reports ‘‘many other 
physical ailments that are related to two, three, 
or four abortions’’. 
(N) Sex-selection abortion results in an un-
natural sex-ratio imbalance. An unnatural sex- 
ratio imbalance is undesirable, due to the in-
ability of the numerically predominant sex to 
find mates. Experts worldwide document that a 
significant sex-ratio imbalance in which males 
numerically predominate can be a cause of in-
creased violence and militancy within a society. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
Likewise, an unnatural sex-ratio imbalance 
gives rise to the commoditization of humans in 
the form of human trafficking, and a con-
sequent increase in kidnapping and other vio-
lent crime. 
(O) Sex-selection abortions have the effect 
of diminishing the representation of women in 
the American population, and therefore, the 
American electorate. 
(P) Sex-selection abortion reinforces sex 
discrimination and has no place in a civilized 
society. 
(2) RACIAL DISCRIMINATION FINDINGS.— 
(A) Minorities are a vital part of American 
society and culture and possess the same funda-
mental human rights and civil rights as the ma-
jority. 
(B) United States law prohibits discrimi-
nation on the basis of race in various contexts, 
including 
employment, 
education, 
housing, 
health insurance coverage, and athletics. 
(C) A ‘‘race-selection abortion’’ is an abor-
tion performed for purposes of eliminating an 
unborn child because the child or a parent of 
the child is of an undesired race. Race-selection 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
abortion is barbaric, and described by civil 
rights advocates as an act of race-based vio-
lence, predicated on race discrimination. By 
definition, race-selection abortions do not impli-
cate the health of mother of the unborn, but in-
stead are elective procedures motivated by race 
bias. 
(D) A thorough review of the history of the 
American population control movement and its 
close affiliation with the American Eugenics So-
ciety reveals a history of targeting certain racial 
or ethnic groups for ‘‘family planning’’. This 
history likely contributes to the current statistic 
that a Black baby is five times as likely to be 
aborted as a White baby, often in a federally 
subsidized clinic. 
(E) Abortion is the leading cause of death 
in the Black community. With approximately 
450,000 Black abortions per year, more Black 
Americans lose their lives each year to abortion 
than to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, AIDS, 
and violence combined. These statistics are de-
rived by comparing the abortion statistics of the 
Alan Guttmacher Institute (formerly the re-
search arm of Planned Parenthood) to the Na-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
tional Vital Statistics annual reports showing 
the number of deaths by cause and race. The 
numbers for each of these variables have re-
mained relatively constant from year to year, 
since 2005. 
(F) Only one State, Arizona, has enacted 
law to proscribe the performance of race-selec-
tion abortions. 
(G) Race-selection abortions have the ef-
fect of diminishing the number of minorities in 
the American population and therefore, the 
American electorate. 
(H) Race-selection abortion reinforces ra-
cial discrimination and has no place in a civ-
ilized society. 
(3) GENERAL FINDINGS.— 
(A) The history of the United States in-
cludes examples of both sex discrimination and 
race discrimination. The people of the United 
States ultimately responded in the strongest 
possible legal terms by enacting constitutional 
amendments correcting elements of such dis-
crimination. Women, once subjected to sex dis-
crimination that denied them the right to vote, 
now have suffrage guaranteed by the 19th 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
Amendment. African-Americans, once subjected 
to race discrimination through slavery that de-
nied them equal protection of the laws, now 
have that right guaranteed by the 14th Amend-
ment. The elimination of discriminatory prac-
tices has been and is among the highest prior-
ities and greatest achievements of American 
history. 
(B) Implicitly approving the discriminatory 
practices of sex-selection abortion and race-se-
lection abortion by choosing not to prohibit 
them will reinforce these inherently discrimina-
tory practices, and evidence a failure to protect 
a segment of certain unborn Americans because 
those unborn are of a sex or racial makeup that 
is disfavored. Sex-selection and race-selection 
abortions trivialize the value of the unborn on 
the basis of sex or race, reinforcing sex and 
race discrimination, and coarsening society to 
the humanity of all vulnerable and innocent 
human life, making it increasingly difficult to 
protect such life. Thus, Congress has a compel-
ling interest in acting—indeed it must act—to 
prohibit sex-selection abortion and race-selec-
tion abortion. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
(b) CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.—In accordance 
with the above findings, Congress enacts the following 
pursuant to Congress’ power under— 
(1) the Commerce Clause; 
(2) section 2 of the 13th Amendment; 
(3) section 5 of the 14th Amendment, including 
the power to enforce the prohibition on government 
action denying equal protection of the laws; and 
(4) section 8 of article I to make all laws nec-
essary and proper for the carrying into execution of 
powers vested by the Constitution in the Govern-
ment of the United States. 
SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE UNBORN ON THE 
BASIS OF RACE OR SEX. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 250. Discrimination against the unborn on the 
basis of race or sex 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly— 
‘‘(1) performs an abortion knowing that such 
abortion is sought based on the sex, gender, color or 
race of the child, or the race of a parent of that 
child; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(2) uses force or the threat of force to inten-
tionally injure or intimidate any person for the pur-
pose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection 
abortion; 
‘‘(3) solicits or accepts funds for the perform-
ance of a sex-selection abortion or a race-selection 
abortion; or 
‘‘(4) transports a woman into the United States 
or across a State line for the purpose of obtaining 
a sex-selection abortion or race-selection abortion; 
or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or im-
prisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 
‘‘(b) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 
‘‘(1) CIVIL ACTION BY WOMAN ON WHOM ABOR-
TION
IS
PERFORMED.—A woman upon whom an 
abortion has been performed or attempted in viola-
tion of subsection (a)(2) may in a civil action 
against any person who engaged in a violation of 
subsection (a) obtain appropriate relief. 
‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTION BY RELATIVES.—The father 
of an unborn child who is the subject of an abortion 
performed or attempted in violation of subsection 
(a), or a maternal grandparent of the unborn child 
if the pregnant woman is an unemancipated minor, 
may in a civil action against any person who en-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
gaged in the violation, obtain appropriate relief, un-
less the pregnancy or abortion resulted from the 
plaintiff’s criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented 
to the abortion. 
‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE RELIEF.—Appropriate relief 
in a civil action under this subsection includes— 
‘‘(A) objectively verifiable money damages 
for all injuries, psychological and physical, in-
cluding loss of companionship and support, oc-
casioned by the violation of this section; and 
‘‘(B) punitive damages. 
‘‘(4) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A qualified plaintiff 
may in a civil action obtain injunctive relief to 
prevent an abortion provider from performing 
or attempting further abortions in violation of 
this section. 
‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph the 
term ‘qualified plaintiff’ means— 
‘‘(i) a woman upon whom an abortion 
is performed or attempted in violation of 
this section; 
‘‘(ii) a maternal grandparent of the 
unborn child if the woman upon whom an 
abortion is performed or attempted in vio-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
lation of this section is an unemancipated 
minor; 
‘‘(iii) the father of an unborn child 
who is the subject of an abortion per-
formed or attempted in violation of sub-
section (a); or 
‘‘(iv) the Attorney General. 
‘‘(5) ATTORNEYS FEES FOR PLAINTIFF.—The 
court shall award a reasonable attorney’s fee as part 
of the costs to a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—A woman upon whom a sex-selec-
tion or race-selection abortion is performed may not be 
prosecuted or held civilly liable for any violation of this 
section, or for a conspiracy to violate this section. 
‘‘(d) LOSS OF FEDERAL FUNDING.—A violation of 
subsection (a) shall be deemed for the purposes of title 
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to be discrimination 
prohibited by section 601 of that Act. 
‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—A physician, phy-
sician’s assistant, nurse, counselor, or other medical or 
mental health professional shall report known or suspected 
violations of any of this section to appropriate law enforce-
ment authorities. Whoever violates this requirement shall 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 1 
year, or both. 
‘‘(f) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—It shall be the 
duty of the United States district courts, United States 
courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United 
States to advance on the docket and to expedite to the 
greatest possible extent the disposition of any matter 
brought under this section. 
‘‘(g) PROTECTION
OF PRIVACY
IN COURT PRO-
CEEDINGS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except to the extent the 
Constitution or other similarly compelling reason re-
quires, in every civil or criminal action under this 
section, the court shall make such orders as are nec-
essary to protect the anonymity of any woman upon 
whom an abortion has been performed or attempted 
if she does not give her written consent to such dis-
closure. Such orders may be made upon motion, but 
shall be made sua sponte if not otherwise sought by 
a party. 
‘‘(2) ORDERS
TO
PARTIES, WITNESSES, AND 
COUNSEL.—The court shall issue appropriate orders 
to the parties, witnesses, and counsel and shall di-
rect the sealing of the record and exclusion of indi-
viduals from courtrooms or hearing rooms to the ex-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
tent necessary to safeguard the identity of the 
woman described in paragraph (1) from public dis-
closure. 
‘‘(3) PSEUDONYM REQUIRED.—In the absence 
of written consent of the woman upon whom an 
abortion has been performed or attempted, any 
party, other than a public official, who brings an ac-
tion under this section shall do so under a pseu-
donym. 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—This subsection shall not be 
construed to conceal the identity of the plaintiff or 
of witnesses from the defendant or from attorneys 
for the defendant. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘abortion’ means the act of using 
or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or 
any other substance, device, or means with the in-
tent to terminate the clinically diagnosable preg-
nancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termi-
nation by those means will with reasonable likelihood 
cause the death of the unborn child, unless the act 
is done with the intent to— 
‘‘(A) save the life or preserve the health of 
the unborn child; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) remove a dead unborn child caused 
by spontaneous abortion; or 
‘‘(C) remove an ectopic pregnancy; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘sex-selection abortion’ means an 
abortion undertaken for purposes of eliminating an 
unborn child of an undesired sex; and 
‘‘(3) the term ‘race-selection abortion’ means an 
abortion performed for purposes of eliminating an 
unborn child because the child or a parent of the 
child is of an undesired race.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 13 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to sec-
tion 249 the following new item: 
‘‘250. Discrimination against the unborn on the basis of race or sex.’’. 
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 
If any portion of this Act or the application thereof 
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such inva-
lidity shall not affect the portions or applications of this 
Act which can be given effect without the invalid portion 
or application. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:27 Apr 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4924.IH
H4924
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS