[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1833 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                               H. R. 1833

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to ban partial-birth abortions.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1833

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, to ban partial-birth abortions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 
1995''.

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.
``Sec. 1531. Partial-birth abortions prohibited
    ``(a) Whoever, 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.
    ``(b) As used in this section, the term `partial-birth abortion' 
means an abortion in which the person performing the abortion partially 
vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and 
completing the delivery.
    ``(c)(1) The father, 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 conduct or the 
plaintiff consented to the abortion.
    ``(2) Such relief shall include--
            ``(A) money damages for all injuries, psychological 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 under section 2, 3, or 4 of this title based 
on a violation of this section.
    ``(e) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution or a civil 
action under this section, which must be proved by a preponderance of 
the evidence, that the partial-birth abortion was performed by a 
physician who reasonably believed--
            ``(1) the partial-birth abortion was necessary to save the 
        life of the mother; and
            ``(2) no other procedure would suffice for that purpose.''.
    (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 following new item:

``74. Partial-birth abortions...............................    1531''.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 1, 1995.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.