Second Chance at Life Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2010 To ensure that a woman seeking a chemical abortion is informed that it may be possible to reverse the intended effects of the abortion if the woman changes her mind, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 1, 2019 Mr. CONAWAY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To ensure that a woman seeking a chemical abortion is informed that it may be possible to reverse the intended effects of the abortion if the woman changes her mind, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Second Chance at Life 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. ABORTION PILL REVERSAL INFORMED CONSENT. 6 The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et 7 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2010 IH ‘‘TITLE XXXIV—ABORTION BILL 1 REVERSAL INFORMED CONSENT 2 ‘‘SEC. 3401. DEFINITIONS. 3 ‘‘In this title: 4 ‘‘(1) ABORTION PROVIDER.—The term ‘abortion 5 provider’ means any person licensed to perform a 6 chemical abortion under applicable Federal and 7 State laws. 8 ‘‘(2) CHEMICAL ABORTION.—The term ‘chem- 9 ical abortion’ means the use or prescription of an 10 abortion-inducing drug dispensed with the intent to 11 cause the death of the unborn child. 12 ‘‘(3) UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 13 means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any 14 stage of development prior to birth. 15 ‘‘(4) WOMAN.—The term ‘woman’ means a fe- 16 male human being whether or not she has reached 17 the age of majority. 18 ‘‘SEC. 3402. ABORTION PILL REVERSAL INFORMED CON- 19 SENT. 20 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF COMPLIANCE BY PRO- 21 VIDERS.—Effective 30 days after the date of enactment 22 of the Second Chance at Life Act of 2019, any abortion 23 provider in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2010 IH who knowingly performs any chemical abortion, shall com- 1 ply with the requirements of this title. 2 ‘‘(a) INFORMED CONSENT.—Except in the case of a 3 medical emergency described in section 3403, a chemical 4 abortion involving the two drug process of dispensing 5 mifepristone first and then misoprostol shall not be per- 6 formed or induced or attempted to be performed or in- 7 duced without the following: 8 ‘‘(1) The woman is informed, by telephone or in 9 person, by the physician who is to perform the 10 chemical abortion, by a referring physician, or by an 11 agent of either physician at least 24 hours before 12 the chemical abortion, that— 13 ‘‘(A) it may be possible to reverse the in- 14 tended effects of a chemical abortion utilizing 15 mifepristone if the woman changes her mind 16 but that time is of the essence; and 17 ‘‘(B) information on and assistance with 18 reversing the effects of a chemical abortion uti- 19 lizing mifepristone is available on the website of 20 the Department of Health and Human Services 21 required by section 3405(b). 22 ‘‘(2) After the first drug involved in the two 23 drug process is dispensed in a chemical abortion uti- 24 lizing mifepristone, the physician shall provide writ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2010 IH ten medical discharge instructions to the pregnant 1 woman which must include the statement: 2 ‘‘ ‘Recent developing research has indicated that 3 mifepristone alone is not always effective in ending a preg- 4 nancy. It may be possible to avoid, cease, or even to re- 5 verse the intended effects of a chemical abortion utilizing 6 mifepristone if the second pill has not been taken. Please 7 consult with a health care professional immediately.’ ’’. 8 ‘‘SEC. 3403. EXCEPTION FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. 9 ‘‘(a) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of section 3402 10 shall not apply to an abortion provider if the abortion is 11 necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endan- 12 gered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical 13 injury, including a life-endangering physical condition 14 caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. 15 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—Upon a determination by an 16 abortion provider under subsection (a) that an abortion 17 is necessary to save the life of a mother, such provider 18 shall include in the medical file of the pregnant woman 19 a truthful and accurate certification of the specific medical 20 circumstances that support such determination. 21 ‘‘SEC. 3404. SIGN POSTING. 22 ‘‘(a) POSTING.—Any private office, freestanding sur- 23 gical outpatient clinic or other facility, or clinic in which 24 chemical abortions, other than abortions necessary in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2010 IH case of a medical emergency described in section 3403, 1 are performed shall conspicuously post a sign (in a loca- 2 tion as described in subsection (c) so as to be clearly visi- 3 ble to patients) which reads: 4 ‘‘ ‘Recent developing research has indicated that 5 mifepristone alone is not always effective in ending a preg- 6 nancy. It may be possible to avoid, cease, or even to re- 7 verse the intended effects of a chemical abortion utilizing 8 mifepristone if the second pill has not been taken. Please 9 consult with a health care professional immediately.’. 10 ‘‘(b) LETTERING; SIZE.—The sign required by sub- 11 section (a) shall be printed with lettering that is— 12 ‘‘(1) legible; and 13 ‘‘(2) at least three quarters of an inch boldfaced 14 type. 15 ‘‘(c) LOCATIONS.—A facility in which chemical abor- 16 tions are performed that is a private office or a free- 17 standing surgical outpatient clinic shall post the sign re- 18 quired by subsection (a) in each patient waiting room and 19 patient consultation room used by patients on whom chem- 20 ical abortions are performed. A hospital or any other facil- 21 ity in which chemical abortions are performed that is not 22 a private office or freestanding surgical outpatient clinic 23 shall post the required sign in each patient admission area 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2010 IH used by patients on whom chemical abortions are per- 1 formed. 2 ‘‘SEC. 3405. PRINTED INFORMATION AND WEBSITE. 3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall publish, in 4 English and in each language which is the primary lan- 5 guage of 2 percent or more of the population of any State, 6 and shall cause to be available on the website required by 7 subsection (b), the following printed materials in such a 8 way as to ensure that the information is easily comprehen- 9 sible: 10 ‘‘(1) Materials designed to inform the woman of 11 the possibility of reversing the effects of a chemical 12 abortion utilizing mifepristone if she changes her 13 mind. 14 ‘‘(2) Materials on the assistance and resources 15 that may be available to help reverse the effects of 16 a chemical abortion. 17 ‘‘(b) WEBSITE.—Not later than 30 days after the 18 date of enactment of the Second Chance at Life Act of 19 2019, the Secretary shall develop and maintain a website 20 to provide the information described in subsection (a) in 21 accordance with the following: 22 ‘‘(1) No information regarding who uses the 23 website shall be collected or maintained. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2010 IH ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall monitor on a regular 1 basis the website to prevent and correct tampering. 2 ‘‘(3) The website shall be maintained at a min- 3 imum resolution of 70 DPI (dots per inch). 4 ‘‘(4) All pictures appearing on the website shall 5 be a minimum of 200x300 pixels. 6 ‘‘(5) All letters on the website shall be a min- 7 imum of 12 point font. 8 ‘‘(6) All information and pictures on the 9 website shall be accessible with an industry standard 10 browser, requiring no additional plug-ins. 11 ‘‘SEC. 3406. CIVIL REMEDIES. 12 ‘‘(a) CIVIL SUITS FOR VIOLATION.—Except as pro- 13 vided in subsection (b), any of the following parties may 14 bring a civil action before the appropriate Federal district 15 court for actual and punitive damages against an abortion 16 provider who knowingly or recklessly performed or at- 17 tempted to perform a chemical abortion in violation of this 18 title: 19 ‘‘(1) A person upon whom such a chemical 20 abortion has been performed or attempted. 21 ‘‘(2) A father of an unborn child who is the 22 subject of such a chemical abortion. 23 ‘‘(3) A parent of a person upon whom such a 24 chemical abortion has been performed or attempted 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2010 IH if such person had not attained 18 years of age at 1 the time of such abortion or if such person died as 2 the result of such abortion. 3 ‘‘(b) BARRING SUIT.—A plaintiff may not bring a 4 civil action under subsection (a) if a chemical abortion is 5 performed or attempted with respect to a pregnancy that 6 is the result of the plaintiff’s criminal conduct. 7 ‘‘(c) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—If a party described in para- 8 graph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) is the prevailing 9 party in an action under this section, the court shall award 10 a reasonable attorney’s fee to such party. If a defendant 11 is the prevailing party in an action under this section, and 12 the court finds that such action was frivolous or brought 13 in bad faith, the court shall award a reasonable attorney’s 14 fee to the defendant.’’. 15 SEC. 3. PREEMPTION. 16 Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this 17 Act shall be construed to preempt any provision of State 18 law to the extent that such State law establishes, imple- 19 ments, or continues in effect disclosure requirements re- 20 garding abortion or penalties for failure to comply with 21 such requirements that are more extensive than those pro- 22 vided under the amendment made by this Act. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2010 IH SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 1 If any provision of this Act, or any application there- 2 of, is found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this 3 Act and any application thereof shall not be affected by 4 such finding. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:35 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2010.IH H2010 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS