I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6536 
To amend the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 to require 
abortion providers to notify the national human trafficking hotline of 
victims of trafficking, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 1, 2022 
Mr. BUDD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 
2015 to require abortion providers to notify the national 
human trafficking hotline of victims of trafficking, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Traffickers 
and Their Accomplices Act of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Slavery and involuntary servitude are in-
compatible with American society and law. 
(2) The 13th Amendment to the United States 
Constitution abolished legal slavery and involuntary 
servitude in the United States. 
(3) Despite slavery being abolished in 1865, 
modern forms of slavery still exist throughout the 
United States. 
(4) Every year, hundreds of thousands of Amer-
icans and immigrants are coerced into commercial 
sex acts against their will. 
(5) In addition to sexual exploitation, victims of 
trafficking suffer repeated physical, mental, and 
emotional abuse at the hands of their traffickers. 
(6) Abortion providers and facilities aid sex 
traffickers by turning a blind eye to the plight of 
abused women. 
(7) The Department of State’s 2017 Traf-
ficking in Persons Report indicated that sex traf-
fickers coerce women into receiving abortions against 
their will. 
(8) Research conducted by Laura J. Lederer 
and Christopher A. Wetzel, entitled ‘‘The Health 
Consequences of Sex Trafficking and Their Implica-
tions for Identifying Victims in Healthcare Facili-
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ties’’ published in the Annals of Health Law Jour-
nal, indicated that 71 percent of women coerced into 
commercial sex acts reported at least one pregnancy 
and 21 percent reported five or more pregnancies 
while trafficked (23 Annals Health L. 61 (2014)). 
(9) Lederer and Wetzel’s research found that 
almost a third of women trafficked reported under-
went numerous abortions as victims of trafficking. 
More than half of respondents answered that their 
abortion while a victim of sex trafficking was a re-
sult of coercion. One victim of sex trafficking re-
counted, ‘‘[in most of my six abortions,] I was under 
serious pressure from my pimps to abort the ba-
bies’’. 
(10) A moral obligation exists to report sus-
pected instances of sex trafficking to authorities. 
(11) Section 2 of the 13th Amendment empow-
ers Congress to enact appropriate legislation to com-
bat all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude, 
including forced sex trafficking. 
SEC. 3. COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 
Section 114 of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking 
Act of 2015 (34 U.S.C. 20709) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
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‘‘(g) NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING HOTLINE NO-
TIFICATION BY ABORTION PROVIDERS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION TO NATIONAL HUMAN 
TRAFFICKING
HOTLINE.—Not later than 24 
hours after consulting with a patient, an abor-
tion provider shall notify the national human 
trafficking hotline if the provider has a reason-
able suspicion that the patient is a victim of 
trafficking. 
‘‘(B) REPORT
TO
ATTORNEY
GENERAL 
AND
LOCAL
LAW
ENFORCEMENT.—Not later 
than 24 hours after an abortion provider noti-
fies the national human trafficking hotline 
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall notify the At-
torney General of such notification by the abor-
tion provider. Not later than 24 hours after re-
ceipt of a notification from the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services under this sub-
paragraph, the Attorney General shall notify 
the appropriate State and local law enforcement 
agencies. 
‘‘(C) PENALTY.—An abortion provider who 
violates subparagraph (A) shall be fined 
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$10,000, imprisoned not more than 6 months, 
or both. 
‘‘(2) TRAINING.— 
‘‘(A) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall make avail-
able to abortion providers the training entitled 
‘Foundational 
(101) 
Human 
Trafficking 
Trainings—SOAR For Health Care’ (or any 
substantially similar successor training). 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Each abortion pro-
vider shall complete the training provided under 
subparagraph (A) on an annual basis and prior 
to January 30 of each calendar year, and cer-
tify such completion to the Director of the Of-
fice on Trafficking in Persons of the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services. The cer-
tification under this subparagraph shall include 
the protocols that the abortion provider has in 
place to identify and assist victims of traf-
ficking. 
‘‘(C) PENALTY.—An abortion provider who 
fails to comply with subparagraph (B) shall be 
subject to a fine in an amount of $1,000 per 
day of noncompliance. 
‘‘(3) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
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‘‘(A) NO REQUIREMENT FOR VICTIMS OF 
TRAFFICKING
TO
SELF-REPORT.—Nothing in 
this subsection may be construed to require a 
victim of trafficking to self-report. 
‘‘(B) NO RIGHT TO ABORTION.—Nothing 
in this subsection may be construed to provide 
a right to an abortion. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘abortion provider’ means a 
person who— 
‘‘(i) performs an abortion and is li-
censed to practice medicine and surgery or 
osteopathic medicine and surgery; or 
‘‘(ii) is otherwise legally authorized to 
perform an abortion. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘victim of trafficking’ has 
the meaning given to such term in section 103 
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).’’. 
Æ 
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