Ultrasound Informed Consent Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 648 To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and the opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 1, 2021 Mr. DUNCAN (for himself, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsyl- vania, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. MOONEY, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. MANN, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. BABIN, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. JACK- SON, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. BANKS, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. JOHNSON of Lou- isiana, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. ROSE, Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. KELLER, and Mrs. MILLER of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and the opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion. 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 ‘‘Ultrasound Informed 4 Consent Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H648.IH H648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 648 IH SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 1 ACT. 2 The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et 3 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘TITLE XXXIV—INFORMED 5 CONSENT 6 ‘‘SEC. 3401. DEFINITIONS. 7 ‘‘In this title: 8 ‘‘(1) ABORTION.—The term ‘abortion’ means 9 the intentional use or prescription of any instru- 10 ment, medicine, drug, substance, device, or method 11 to terminate the life of an unborn child, or to termi- 12 nate the pregnancy of a woman known to be preg- 13 nant, with an intention other than— 14 ‘‘(A) to produce a live birth and preserve 15 the life and health of the child after live birth; 16 or 17 ‘‘(B) to remove an ectopic pregnancy, or to 18 remove a dead unborn child who died as the re- 19 sult of a spontaneous abortion, accidental trau- 20 ma, or a criminal assault on the pregnant fe- 21 male or her unborn child. 22 ‘‘(2) ABORTION PROVIDER.—The term ‘abortion 23 provider’ means any person legally qualified to per- 24 form an abortion under applicable Federal and State 25 laws. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H648.IH H648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 648 IH ‘‘(3) UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 1 means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any 2 stage of development prior to birth. 3 ‘‘(4) UNEMANCIPATED MINOR.—The term 4 ‘unemancipated minor’ means a minor who is sub- 5 ject to the control, authority, and supervision of his 6 or her parent or guardian, as determined under 7 State law. 8 ‘‘(5) WOMAN.—The term ‘woman’ means a fe- 9 male human being whether or not she has reached 10 the age of majority. 11 ‘‘SEC. 3402. REQUIREMENT OF INFORMED CONSENT. 12 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF COMPLIANCE BY PRO- 13 VIDERS.—Any abortion provider in or affecting interstate 14 or foreign commerce, who knowingly performs any abor- 15 tion, shall comply with the requirements of this title. 16 ‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE AND REVIEW OF 17 ULTRASOUND.—Prior to a woman giving informed con- 18 sent to having any part of an abortion performed, the 19 abortion provider who is to perform the abortion, or an 20 agent under the supervision of the provider, shall— 21 ‘‘(1) perform an obstetric ultrasound on the 22 pregnant woman; 23 ‘‘(2) provide a simultaneous explanation of 24 what the ultrasound is depicting; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H648.IH H648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 648 IH ‘‘(3) display the ultrasound images so that the 1 pregnant woman may view them; and 2 ‘‘(4) provide a complete medical description of 3 the ultrasound images, which shall include all of the 4 following: the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, 5 cardiac activity if present and visible, and the pres- 6 ence of external members and internal organs if 7 present and viewable. 8 ‘‘(c) ABILITY TO TURN EYES AWAY.—Nothing in 9 this section shall be construed to prevent a pregnant 10 woman from turning her eyes away from the ultrasound 11 images required to be displayed and described to her. Nei- 12 ther the abortion provider nor the pregnant woman shall 13 be subject to any penalty under this title if the pregnant 14 woman declines to look at the displayed ultrasound im- 15 ages. 16 ‘‘SEC. 3403. EXCEPTION FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. 17 ‘‘(a) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of section 3402 18 shall not apply to an abortion provider if the abortion is 19 necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endan- 20 gered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical 21 injury, including a life-endangering physical condition 22 caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. 23 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—Upon a determination by an 24 abortion provider under subsection (a) that an abortion 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H648.IH H648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 648 IH is necessary to save the life of a mother, such provider 1 shall include in the medical file of the pregnant woman 2 a truthful and accurate certification of the specific medical 3 circumstances that support such determination. 4 ‘‘SEC. 3404. PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY. 5 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 7 commence a civil action in Federal court under this 8 section against any abortion provider who knowingly 9 commits an act constituting a violation of this title 10 for a penalty in an amount not to exceed— 11 ‘‘(A) $100,000 for each such violation that 12 is adjudicated in the first proceeding against 13 such provider under this title; and 14 ‘‘(B) $250,000 for each violation of this 15 title that is adjudicated in a subsequent pro- 16 ceeding against such provider under this title. 17 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Upon the assessment of 18 a civil penalty under paragraph (1), the Attorney 19 General shall notify the appropriate State medical li- 20 censing authority. 21 ‘‘(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A woman upon 22 whom an abortion has been performed in violation of this 23 title may commence a civil action against the abortion pro- 24 vider for any violation of this title for actual and punitive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H648.IH H648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 648 IH damages. For purposes of the preceding sentence, actual 1 damages are objectively verifiable money damages for all 2 injuries.’’. 3 SEC. 3. PREEMPTION. 4 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 5 Act shall be construed to preempt any provision of State 6 law to the extent that such State law establishes, imple- 7 ments, or continues in effect disclosure requirements re- 8 garding abortion or penalties for failure to comply with 9 such requirements that are more extensive than those pro- 10 vided under the amendment made by this Act. 11 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 12 If any provision of this Act, or any application there- 13 of, is found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this 14 Act and any application thereof shall not be affected by 15 such finding. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H648.IH H648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS