Child Custody Protection Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 16 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit taking minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 22, 2021 Mr. PORTMAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit taking minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requir- ing the involvement of parents in abortion decisions. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Custody Protec- 4 tion Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S16.IS S16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 16 IS SEC. 2. TRANSPORTATION OF MINORS IN CIRCUMVENTION 1 OF CERTAIN LAWS RELATING TO ABORTION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title 18, United States 3 Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 117 the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘CHAPTER 117A—TRANSPORTATION OF 6 MINORS IN CIRCUMVENTION OF CER- 7 TAIN LAWS RELATING TO ABORTION 8 ‘‘Sec. ‘‘2431. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws relating to abortion. ‘‘2432. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws relating to in- cest. ‘‘§ 2431. Transportation of minors in circumvention of 9 certain laws relating to abortion 10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 11 ‘‘(1) the term ‘law requiring parental involve- 12 ment in a minor’s abortion decision’ means a law in 13 force in the State in which a minor resides that— 14 ‘‘(A) requires, before an abortion is per- 15 formed on the minor— 16 ‘‘(i) notification to, or consent of, a 17 parent of the minor; or 18 ‘‘(ii) judicial authorization from a 19 State court; and 20 ‘‘(B) does not provide as an alternative to 21 the requirements described in subparagraph 22 (A)— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S16.IS S16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 16 IS ‘‘(i) notification to, or consent of, an 1 individual who is not a parent of the 2 minor; or 3 ‘‘(ii) authorization from an entity that 4 is not a State court; 5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘minor’ means an individual who 6 is not older than the maximum age requiring paren- 7 tal notification or consent, or judicial authorization 8 from a State court, under a law requiring parental 9 involvement in a minor’s abortion decision; 10 ‘‘(3) the term ‘parent’, with respect to a minor, 11 means— 12 ‘‘(A) a parent or guardian of the minor; 13 ‘‘(B) a legal custodian of the minor; or 14 ‘‘(C) an individual standing in loco 15 parentis— 16 ‘‘(i) who has care and control of the 17 minor; 18 ‘‘(ii) with whom the minor regularly 19 resides; and 20 ‘‘(iii) who is designated by a law re- 21 quiring parental involvement in a minor’s 22 abortion decision as an individual to whom 23 notification, or from whom consent, is re- 24 quired; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S16.IS S16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 16 IS ‘‘(4) the term ‘State’ includes the District of 1 Columbia and any commonwealth, possession, or 2 other territory of the United States. 3 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.— 4 ‘‘(1) GENERALLY.—Except as provided in sub- 5 section (c), whoever knowingly transports a minor 6 across a State line, with the intent that the minor 7 obtain an abortion, and thereby in fact abridges the 8 right of a parent of the minor under a law requiring 9 parental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, 10 shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not 11 more than 1 year, or both. 12 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub- 13 section, an abridgement of the right of a parent of 14 a minor occurs if an abortion is performed on the 15 minor, in a State other than the State in which the 16 minor resides, without the parental consent or notifi- 17 cation, or the judicial authorization, that would have 18 been required under a law requiring parental in- 19 volvement in a minor’s abortion decision, had the 20 abortion been performed in the State in which the 21 minor resides. 22 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.— 23 ‘‘(1) LIFE-ENDANGERING CONDITIONS.—The 24 prohibition under subsection (b) shall not apply in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S16.IS S16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 16 IS the case of an abortion that is necessary to save the 1 life of a minor because her life is endangered by a 2 physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, 3 including a life-endangering physical condition 4 caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. 5 ‘‘(2) MINORS AND PARENTS.—A minor trans- 6 ported in violation of this section, and any parent of 7 the minor, may not be prosecuted or sued for a vio- 8 lation of this section, a conspiracy to violate this sec- 9 tion, or an offense under section 2 or 3 based on a 10 violation of this section. 11 ‘‘(d) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—It is an affirmative 12 defense to a prosecution for an offense, or to a civil action, 13 based on a violation of this section that the defendant rea- 14 sonably believed, based on information the defendant ob- 15 tained directly from a parent of the minor or other compel- 16 ling facts, that before the minor obtained the abortion, the 17 parental consent or notification, or judicial authorization, 18 that would have been required under the law requiring pa- 19 rental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, had the 20 abortion been performed in the State in which the minor 21 resides, took place. 22 ‘‘(e) CIVIL ACTION.—Any parent who suffers harm 23 from a violation of subsection (b) may obtain appropriate 24 relief in a civil action, unless the parent has committed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S16.IS S16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 16 IS an act of incest with the minor who was transported in 1 violation of subsection (b). 2 ‘‘§ 2432. Transportation of minors in circumvention of 3 certain laws relating to incest 4 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 2431(c)(2), whoever has 5 committed an act of incest with a minor and knowingly 6 transports the minor across a State line with the intent 7 that the minor obtain an abortion, shall be fined under 8 this title or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.’’. 9 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 10 The table of chapters for part I of title 18, United States 11 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 12 chapter 117 the following: 13 ‘‘117A. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws re- lating to abortion .......................................................... 2431’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S16.IS S16 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS