Dignity for Aborted Children Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2590 To protect the dignity of fetal remains, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. DAINES, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. HAWLEY, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Ms. ERNST, Mrs. BLACKBURN, and Mr. CRUZ) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To protect the dignity of fetal remains, 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 ‘‘Dignity for Aborted 4 Children Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF FETAL REMAINS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part H of title IV of the Public 7 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289 et seq.) is amended 8 by adding at the end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2590.IS S2590 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2590 IS ‘‘SEC. 498F. PROTECTION OF FETAL REMAINS. 1 ‘‘(a) CONSENT REQUIREMENT.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any abortion provider, 3 after performing an abortion in or affecting inter- 4 state or foreign commerce, shall provide the patient 5 with an informed consent form, offering the patient 6 the following options for disposal of the human fetal 7 tissue from the abortion: 8 ‘‘(A) The patient may take possession of 9 the human fetal tissue and may choose to 10 transfer the tissue to an entity providing inter- 11 ment or cremation services. 12 ‘‘(B) The patient may elect to release the 13 human fetal tissue to the abortion provider, 14 who shall be subject to the requirements of sub- 15 section (b). 16 ‘‘(2) CONSENT REQUIREMENTS.—An abortion 17 provider described in paragraph (1) shall— 18 ‘‘(A) obtain a patient signature on each 19 consent form required under paragraph (1); 20 and 21 ‘‘(B) retain each such form in the patient’s 22 file. 23 ‘‘(b) PROVIDER DISPOSAL REQUIREMENT.—It shall 24 be unlawful for any abortion provider who, after per- 25 forming an abortion, in or affecting interstate or foreign 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2590.IS S2590 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2590 IS commerce, in which the woman on whom the abortion was 1 performed elects, pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(B), to re- 2 lease the human fetal tissue to the abortion provider, to 3 fail to provide for the final disposition of the human fetal 4 tissue through interment or cremation, consistent with 5 State law regarding the disposal of human remains, not 6 later than 7 days after the date on which the abortion 7 procedure was performed. Such final disposition of human 8 fetal tissue may be carried out through interment or cre- 9 mation of tissue from more than one abortion procedure 10 collectively. 11 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES.— 12 ‘‘(1) INFORMED CONSENT VIOLATIONS.—An 13 abortion provider who fails to maintain the docu- 14 mentation required under subsection (A)(2)(B) shall 15 be subject to civil monetary penalties in an amount 16 not to exceed $50,000. 17 ‘‘(2) DISPOSAL VIOLATIONS.—Any abortion 18 provider who violates subsection (b) shall be fined in 19 accordance with title 18, United States Code, im- 20 prisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 21 ‘‘(3) BAR TO PROSECUTION.—A patient upon 22 whom an abortion in violation of subsection (b) is 23 performed or attempted may not be prosecuted 24 under, or for a conspiracy to violate, paragraph (1), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2590.IS S2590 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2590 IS or for an offense under section 2, 3, or 4 of title 18, 1 United States Code, based on such a violation. 2 ‘‘(d) REPORTING.—Each abortion provider described 3 in subsection (a)(1) shall submit annual reports to the 4 Secretary indicating, with respect to the reporting pe- 5 riod— 6 ‘‘(1) the aggregate number of abortion proce- 7 dures performed by such abortion provider; 8 ‘‘(2) the gestational age at the time of each 9 such procedure; and 10 ‘‘(3) for abortions carried out using an abortion 11 method other than chemical abortion, the aggregate 12 number of fetal remains transferred for interment or 13 cremation and the number released to patients. 14 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORTS BY THE SECRETARY.—The 15 Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report on 16 the number of abortions by State, procedure type, and 17 method of disposal of human fetal tissue. 18 ‘‘(f) NON-PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section 19 shall preempt any State requirement that, at a minimum, 20 requires interment or cremation in the same manner that 21 other human remains are required to be treated in such 22 State. 23 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2590.IS S2590 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2590 IS ‘‘(1) the term ‘abortion’ means the use or pre- 1 scription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any 2 other substance or device— 3 ‘‘(A) to intentionally kill the unborn child 4 of a woman known to be pregnant; or 5 ‘‘(B) to intentionally terminate the preg- 6 nancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with 7 an intention other than— 8 ‘‘(i) after viability to produce a live 9 birth and preserve the life and health of 10 the child born alive; or 11 ‘‘(ii) to remove a dead unborn child; 12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘abortion provider’ means an in- 13 dividual or entity that performs abortions; and 14 ‘‘(3) the term ‘human fetal tissue’ has the 15 meaning given the term in section 498A(g).’’. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2590.IS S2590 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS