II
Calendar No. 31
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1122
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 20, 1997
Received and read the first time
MARCH 21, 1997
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
AN ACT
To amend title 18, United States Code, to ban partial-
birth abortions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
HR 1122 PCS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Partial-Birth Abortion
Ban Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after chapter 73 the following:
‘‘CHAPTER 74—PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS
‘‘Sec.
‘‘1531. Partial-birth abortions prohibited.
‘‘§ 1531. Partial-birth abortions prohibited
‘‘(a) Any physician who, in or affecting interstate or
foreign commerce, knowingly performs a partial-birth
abortion and thereby kills a human fetus shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than two years,
or both. This paragraph shall not apply to a partial-birth
abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother
whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness,
or injury: Provided, That no other medical procedure
would suffice for that purpose. This paragraph shall be-
come effective one day after enactment.
‘‘(b)(1) As used in this section, the term ‘partial-birth
abortion’ means an abortion in which the person perform-
ing the abortion partially vaginally delivers a living fetus
before killing the fetus and completing the delivery.
‘‘(2) As used in this section, the term ‘physician’
means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy legally author-
HR 1122 PCS
ized to practice medicine and surgery by the State in
which the doctor performs such activity, or any other indi-
vidual legally authorized by the State to perform abor-
tions: Provided, however, That any individual who is not
a physician or not otherwise legally authorized by the
State to perform abortions, but who nevertheless directly
performs a partial-birth abortion, shall be subject to the
provisions of this section.
‘‘(c)(1) The father, if married to the mother at the
time she receives a partial-birth abortion procedure, and
if the mother has not attained the age of 18 years at the
time of the abortion, the maternal grandparents of the
fetus, may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief, unless
the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff’s criminal con-
duct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion.
‘‘(2) Such relief shall include—
‘‘(A) money damages for all injuries, psycho-
logical and physical, occasioned by the violation of
this section; and
‘‘(B) statutory damages equal to three times
the cost of the partial-birth abortion.
‘‘(d) A woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion
is performed may not be prosecuted under this section,
for a conspiracy to violate this section, or for an offense
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under section 2, 3, or 4 of this title based on a violation
of this section.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters
for part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after the item relating to chapter 73 the follow-
ing new item:
‘‘74. Partial-birth abortions ........................................................... 1531’’.
Passed the House of Representatives March 20,
1997.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.
Calendar No. 31
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1122
AN ACT
To amend title 18, United States Code, to ban
partial-birth abortions.
MARCH 21, 1997
Read the second time and placed on the calendar