[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 939 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 127
104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 939

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                June 16 (legislative day, June 5), 1995

 Mr. Smith (for himself and Mr. Gramm) introduced the following bill; 
                     which was read the first time

                             June 19, 1995

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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 mother, 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.
    ``(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;
even if any party consented to the performance of an 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 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 woman upon whom it was performed; and
            ``(2) no other form of abortion 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''.




                                                       Calendar No. 127

104th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 939

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                             June 19, 1995

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar