Ending Chemical Abortions Act of 2023

Bill: 118-hr-5806
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5]
Introduced: 2023-09-28
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Latest action: action_date: 2023-09-28
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5806 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 28, 2023 Mr. Ogles (for himself, Mrs. Harshbarger , Mr. Duncan , Mr. Weber of Texas , Mrs. Miller of Illinois , Mr. Moore of Alabama , Mr. Kelly of Mississippi , Mr. Gosar , Mr. Arrington , Mr. Crenshaw , Mr. Clyde , Mr. Allen , Mr. Self , and Mr. Aderholt ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit chemical abortions, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ending Chemical Abortions Act of 2023 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration approved chemical abortion drugs for use in the United States. The agency illegally categorized pregnancy as an illness and asserted chemical abortion drugs provide a meaningful therapeutic benefit. (2) In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration reduced the number of doctor visits required for administration of chemical abortion drugs from 3 visits to 1 visit. The agency also removed the requirement for both the in-person administration of misoprostol and a subsequent follow-up appointment. At this time, the agency also expanded the availability of inducing a chemical abortion from 7 to 10 weeks. (3) In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration eliminated the in-person dispensing requirement for chemical abortion drugs, purporting to allow these drugs to be dispensed by mail in violation of longstanding Federal law. (4) When compared to surgical abortions, chemical abortions are consistently more likely to result in complications that are miscoded as a spontaneous abortion or miscarriage . (5) According to the Guttmacher Institute, the Abortion Industry’s think tank, since 2000, the administration of mifepristone and misoprostol has grown to comprise over 50 percent of all induced abortions in the United States. (6) There is a four times higher risk of experiencing complications due to a chemical abortion than a surgical abortion. 3. Renaming chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code The table of chapters for part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item related to chapter 74 and inserting the following: 74. Abortion crimes. . 4. Chemical abortions prohibited (a) In general Chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1531 the following: 1532. Chemical abortions (a) Prohibition Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whoever prescribes, dispenses, distributes, or sells, any drug, medication, or chemical for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion on any woman, shall be imprisoned for not more than 25 years, fined under this title, or both. (b) Exceptions Subsection (a) shall not apply to any of the following: (1) The sale, use, prescription or administration of any contraceptive agent administered before conception or before pregnancy can be confirmed through conventional testing. (2) The treatment of a miscarriage according to medical guidelines as accepted as of the date of the miscarriage. (3) In the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death. (c) Bar to prosecution A woman upon whom a chemical abortion is performed or attempted may not be criminally prosecuted under this section. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Abortion The term abortion means intentionally terminating the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other than— (A) to produce a live birth; (B) to remove a dead unborn child caused by miscarriage; or (C) to treat an ectopic or molar pregnancy. (2) Pregnant; pregnancy The term pregnant or pregnancy refers to the human female reproductive condition of having a living unborn child within her body throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages from fertilization to full gestation and childbirth. (3) Unborn child The term unborn child means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens, beginning at fertilization, until the point of being born alive as defined in section 8(b) of title 1, United States Code. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of sections for chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1531 the following: 1532. Chemical abortions. .