I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4131 
To prohibit fetal remains in publicly owned water systems, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2025 
Mr. GILL of Texas (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, and 
Mr. STUTZMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To prohibit fetal remains in publicly owned water systems, 
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 ‘‘Respectful Treatment 
of Unborn Remains Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF FETAL REMAINS IN PUBLICLY 
OWNED WATER SYSTEMS. 
Part H of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 289 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 498F. PROHIBITION OF FETAL REMAINS IN PUBLICLY 
OWNED WATER SYSTEMS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An abortion provider may not 
cause fetal remains to be placed into a publicly owned 
water system. 
‘‘(b) PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION.—An abortion pro-
vider who violates subsection (a) shall be fined in accord-
ance with title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not 
more than 5 years, or both. 
‘‘(c) NO LIABILITY FOR INDIVIDUAL UPON WHOM 
ABORTION IS PERFORMED.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, an individual upon whom an abortion is 
performed shall not be liable for any offense related to 
a violation of subsection (a) with respect to such abortion. 
‘‘(d) RELATION TO OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this 
section may be construed to preempt a State or local re-
quirement that prohibits an abortion provider from caus-
ing fetal remains to be placed into a publicly owned water 
system. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ABORTION.—The term ‘abortion’ means a 
procedure involving the use or prescription of a de-
vice or substance— 
‘‘(A) to intentionally kill the unborn child 
of an individual known to be pregnant; or 
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‘‘(B) to intentionally terminate the preg-
nancy of such an individual, unless such termi-
nation is conducted with the intent to— 
‘‘(i) produce a live birth and preserve 
the life and health of such child; or 
‘‘(ii) remove a dead unborn child from 
the body of such an individual. 
‘‘(2) ABORTION PROVIDER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘abortion 
provider’ means an individual who performs an 
abortion. 
‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘abortion 
provider’ does not include, with respect to an 
abortion, the individual upon whom the abor-
tion is performed. 
‘‘(3) FETAL
REMAINS.—The term ‘fetal re-
mains’ means— 
‘‘(A) the remains of an aborted fetus (or a 
portion thereof); and 
‘‘(B) any other medical waste associated 
with an abortion. 
‘‘(4) PUBLICLY OWNED WATER SYSTEM.—The 
term ‘publicly owned water system’ means a system 
of facilities owned or controlled by a Federal, State, 
or local government entity, the purpose of which is 
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to provide, transport, or treat water, including the 
drains, pipes, and other devices that connect to such 
system.’’. 
Æ 
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