[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 636 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 636

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to permit individuals to have 
 freedom of access to certain medical clinics and facilities, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 23 (legislative day, March 3), 1993

Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Campbell, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
    Harkin, Mr. Metzenbaum, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Simon, Mr. Robb, Mr. 
 Wellstone, Mr. Pell, Ms. Moseley-Braun, and Mr. Feingold) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                      on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to permit individuals to have 
 freedom of access to certain medical clinics and facilities, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION. l. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom of Access to Clinic 
Entrances Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) medical clinics and other facilities offering abortion 
        services have been targeted in recent years by an interstate 
        campaign of violence and obstruction aimed at closing the 
        facilities or physically blocking ingress to them, and 
        intimidating those seeking to obtain or provide abortion 
        services;
            (2) as a result of such conduct, women are being denied 
        access to, and health care providers are being prevented from 
        delivering, vital reproductive health services;
            (3) such conduct subjects women to increased medical risks 
        and thereby jeopardizes the public health and safety;
            (4) the methods used to deny women access to these services 
        include blockades of facility entrances; invasions and 
        occupations of the premises; vandalism and destruction of 
        property in and around the facility; bombings, arson, and 
        murder; and other acts of force and threats of force;
            (5) those engaging in such tactics frequently trample 
        police lines and barricades and overwhelm State and local law 
        enforcement authorities and courts and their ability to 
        restrain and enjoin unlawful conduct and prosecute those who 
        have violated the law;
            (6) such conduct operates to infringe upon women's ability 
        to exercise full enjoyment of rights secured to them by Federal 
        and State law, both statutory and constitutional, and burdens 
        interstate commerce, including by interfering with business 
        activities of medical clinics involved in interstate commerce 
        and by forcing women to travel from States where their access 
        to reproductive health services is obstructed to other States;
            (7) prior to the Supreme Court's decision in Bray v. 
        Alexandria Women's Health Clinic (No. 90-985, January 13, 
        1993), such conduct was frequently restrained and enjoined by 
        Federal courts in actions brought under section 1980(3) of the 
        Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1985(3));
            (8) in the Bray decision, the Court denied a remedy under 
        such section to persons injured by the obstruction of access to 
        abortion services;
            (9) legislation is necessary to prohibit the obstruction of 
        access by women to abortion services and to ensure that persons 
        injured by such conduct, as well as the Attorney General, can 
        seek redress in the Federal courts;
            (10) the obstruction of access to abortion services can be 
        prohibited, and the right of injured parties to seek redress in 
        the courts can be established, without abridging the exercise 
        of any rights guaranteed under the First Amendment to the 
        Constitution or other law; and
            (11) Congress has the affirmative power under section 8 of 
        article I of the Constitution and under section 5 of the 
        Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution to enact such 
        legislation.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to protect and promote 
the public health and safety by prohibiting the use of force, threat of 
force or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate or interfere with a 
person seeking to obtain or provide abortion services, and the 
destruction of property of facilities providing abortion services, and 
by establishing the right of private parties injured by such conduct, 
as well as the Attorney General in appropriate cases, to bring actions 
for appropriate relief.

SEC. 3. FREEDOM OF ACCESS TO CLINIC ENTRANCES.

    Title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300aaa et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new 
section:

``SEC. 2715. FREEDOM OF ACCESS TO CLINIC ENTRANCES.

    ``(a) Prohibited Activities.--Whoever--
            ``(1) by force or threat of force or by physical 
        obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes 
        with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any 
        person because that person is or has been, or in order to 
        intimidate such person or any other person or any class of 
        persons, from--
                    ``(A) obtaining abortion services; or
                    ``(B) lawfully aiding another person to obtain 
                abortion services; or
            ``(2) intentionally damages or destroys the property of a 
        medical facility or in which a medical facility is located, or 
        attempts to do so, because such facility provides abortion 
        services,
shall be subject to the penalties provided in subsection (b) and the 
civil remedy provided in subsection (e).
    ``(b) Penalties.--Whoever violates this section shall--
            ``(1) in the case of a first offense, be fined in 
        accordance with title 18 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or 
        both; and
            ``(2) in the case of a second or subsequent offense after a 
        prior conviction under this section, be fined in accordance 
        with title 18 or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both;
except that, if bodily injury results, the length of imprisonment shall 
be not more than 10 years, and if death results, it shall be for any 
term of years or for life.
    ``(c) Study.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a study 
        concerning the effect that conduct prohibited by subsection (a) 
        has had, is having or may be expected to have on the delivery 
        of reproductive health services for women and on the health and 
        welfare of women throughout the United States. Such study shall 
        take into account the full range of reproductive health 
        services offered at facilities targeted by such conduct, 
        including abortion services, family planning, pregnancy 
        testing, infertility services, testing and treatment for 
        sexually transmitted diseases, screening for breast and 
        cervical cancer, prenatal services, and other similar 
        activities. Such study shall include consideration of--
                    ``(A) the nature and extent of incidents in which 
                conduct prohibited by subsection (a) has occurred 
                throughout the United States;
                    ``(B) the impact of such incidents on the medical 
                facilities and providers that have been targeted, and 
                on the ability of physicians and other health care 
                providers to deliver reproductive health services to 
                their patients; and
                    ``(C) the effects of such incidents on the mental 
                and physical health of women, including--
                            ``(i) any medical risks or complications 
                        associated with delays in obtaining, or failure 
                        to obtain, testing, screening or treatment 
                        services in the areas of reproductive health;
                            ``(ii) any medical risks or complications 
                        associated with delays in the termination of a 
                        pregnancy;
                            ``(iii) any harm to maternal or child 
                        health associated with delays in obtaining, or 
                        failure to obtain, prenatal services; and
                            ``(iv) any other effects of delays in 
                        obtaining or failure to obtain reproductive 
                        health services.
        Such study shall take into account any short-term effects on 
        the delivery of reproductive health services by the targeted 
        facilities and providers, as well as any long-term implications 
        for the health and welfare of women in the general population.
            ``(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Secretary shall prepare and 
        submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that 
        describes the results of the study conducted under paragraph 
        (1), together with any appropriate recommendations and proposed 
        legislation.
    ``(d) Investigation of Violations.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an 
        investigation, on the request of a medical facility providing 
        reproductive health services or on the initiative of the 
        Secretary, to determine whether any person has violated or is 
        violating this section.
            ``(2) Assistance.--The Secretary may obtain the assistance 
        of the Attorney General, or a State or local government agency 
        under a cooperative agreement with such agency, in conducting 
        investigations under paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Referral.--If the Secretary determines that 
        reasonable cause exists to believe that a violation of this 
        section has occurred or is occurring, the Secretary shall 
        immediately refer the matter to the Attorney General for 
        appropriate action under subsection (e)(2).
    ``(e) Civil Remedies.--
            ``(1) Right of action.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any person aggrieved by reason 
                of the conduct prohibited by subsection (a) may 
                commence a civil action for the relief set forth in 
                subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Damages.--In any action under subparagraph 
                (A), the court may award appropriate relief, including 
                temporary, preliminary or permanent injunctive relief 
                and compensatory and punitive damages, as well as the 
                costs of suit and reasonable fees for attorneys and 
                expert witnesses. With respect to compensatory damages, 
                the plaintiff may elect, at any time prior to the 
                rendering of final judgment, to recover, in lieu of 
                actual damages, an award of statutory damages in the 
                amount of $5,000 per violation.
            ``(2) Action by attorney general.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If the Attorney General has 
                reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of 
                persons is being, has been, or may be injured by 
                conduct constituting a violation of this section, and 
                such conduct raises an issue of general public 
                importance, the Attorney General may commence a civil 
                action in any appropriate United States District Court.
                    ``(B) Damages.--In any action under subparagraph 
                (A), the court may award appropriate relief, including 
                temporary, preliminary or permanent injunctive relief 
                and compensatory damages to persons aggrieved as 
                described in paragraph (1)(B). The court, to vindicate 
                the public interest, may also assess a civil penalty 
                against each respondent--
                            ``(i) in an amount not exceeding $15,000, 
                        for a first violation; and
                            ``(ii) in an amount not exceeding $25,000, 
                        for any subsequent violation.
    ``(f) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed or interpreted to--
            ``(1) prevent any State from exercising jurisdiction over 
        any offense over which it would have jurisdiction in the 
        absence of this section;
            ``(2) deprive State and local law enforcement authorities 
        of responsibility for prosecuting acts that may be violations 
        of this section and that are violations of State or local law;
            ``(3) provide exclusive authority to prosecute, or 
        exclusive penalties for, acts that may be violations of this 
        section and that are violations of other Federal laws;
            ``(4) limit or otherwise affect the right of a person 
        aggrieved by acts that may be violations of this section to 
        seek other available civil remedies; or
            ``(5) prohibit expression protected by the First Amendment 
        to the Constitution.
    ``(g) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) Abortion services.--The term `abortion services' 
        includes medical, surgical, counselling or referral services 
        relating to the termination of a pregnancy.
            ``(2) Attorney general.--The term `Attorney General' 
        includes the Attorney General of the United States, the Deputy 
        Attorney General of the United States, the Associate Attorney 
        General of the United States, or any employee of the Department 
        of Justice or any employee of any department or agency of the 
        United States so designated by the Attorney General to carry 
        out the powers conferred on the Attorney General by this 
        section.
            ``(3) Medical facility.--The term `medical facility' 
        includes a hospital, clinic, physician's office, or other 
        facility that provides health or surgical services.
            ``(4) State.--The term `State' includes a State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, 
        territory, or possession of the United States.''.

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