[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 796 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 796

            To assure freedom of access to clinic entrances.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 1993

  Mr. Schumer (for himself and Mrs. Morella) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
            To assure freedom of access to clinic entrances.

    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 ``Freedom of Access to Clinic 
Entrances Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. TITLE 18 AMENDMENT.

    (a) Substantive Amendment.--Chapter 13 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 248. Blocking access to clinic entrances
    ``(a) Whoever, with intent to prevent or discourage any person from 
obtaining reproductive health services, intentionally and physically 
obstructs, hinders, or impedes the ingress or egress of another to a 
medical facility that affects interstate commerce, or to the structure 
or place in which the medical facility is located, shall be subject to 
the penalties provided in subsection (b) of this section and the civil 
remedy provided in subsection (c) of this section.
    ``(b) The penalty for an offense under subsection (a) of this 
section is a fine under this title, or imprisonment--
            ``(1) for not more than one year, in the case of a first 
        conviction under this section; and
            ``(2) for not more than three years, in the case of an 
        offender who has been convicted of a previous offense under 
        this section;
or both such fine and imprisonment.
    ``(c)(1) A qualified plaintiff may in a civil action obtain 
appropriate relief with respect to any violation of subsection (a) of 
this section.
    ``(2) As used in this subsection, a `qualified plaintiff' with 
respect to a violation is--
            ``(A) the person whose ingress or egress is or is about to 
        be obstructed, hindered, or impeded;
            ``(B) a person whose obtaining reproductive services is 
        intended to be prevented or discouraged;
            ``(C) the medical facility, or any of its medical or 
        administrative staff; or
            ``(D) the owner of the structure or place in which the 
        medical facility is located.
    ``(3) Appropriate relief in an action under this subsection does 
not include punitive damages but does include--
            ``(A) treble the actual damages (and any such damages may 
        include an award for pain and suffering and emotional 
        distress), or damages in the amount of $5,000, whichever is 
        greater ; and
            ``(B) any appropriate declaratory or injunctive or other 
        equitable relief.
    ``(4) The court may award to the prevailing party a reasonable 
attorney's fee and other litigation expenses as a part of the costs in 
an action under this subsection.
    ``(d) This section does not prohibit--
            ``(1) any expressive conduct protected by the first article 
        of amendment to the Constitution from legal prohibition;
            ``(2) conduct by a party to a labor dispute in furtherance 
        of labor or management objectives in that dispute; or
            ``(3) conduct--
                    ``(A) in the course of official duty by a 
                government official;
                    ``(B) by agents of public utilities carrying out 
                that agency; or
                    ``(C) by agents of the medical facility, or the 
                building in which it is located, carrying out that 
                agency.
    ``(e) Congress does not intend this section to provide the 
exclusive remedies with respect to the conduct prohibited by it, nor to 
preempt the legislation of the States that may provide such remedies.
    ``(f) As used in this section, the term `reproductive health 
services' includes medical, surgical, or counselling services relating 
to the human reproductive system.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item:

``248. Blocking access to clinic entrances.''.

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