[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 679 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 679

                To prohibit certain late term abortions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 2003

 Mr. Edwards introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                To prohibit certain late term 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 ``Late Term Abortion Ban Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITED ACTS INVOLVING ABORTION; DISCIPLINARY PROVISIONS; 
              REPORTING.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``abortion'' means an act involving the use of 
        an instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance or device 
        developed to terminate the pregnancy of a woman if the act is 
        done with an intention other than to increase the probability 
        of a live birth of the unborn child of the woman, to preserve 
        the life or health of the child, or to remove a dead fetus.
            (2) The term ``physician'' means an individual licensed to 
        practice medicine.
            (3) The term ``viable'' means the stage of fetal 
        development when, in the good faith medical judgment of the 
        attending physician based on the particular facts of the case, 
        an unborn child possesses the capacity to live outside its 
        mother's womb after its premature birth resulting from any 
        cause.
            (4) The term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia, 
        Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession of the 
        United States.
    (b) Prohibition.--Except as provided by subsection (d), a person 
may not intentionally or knowingly perform an abortion on a woman who 
is pregnant with a viable unborn child during the third trimester of 
the pregnancy.
    (c) Sanction.--Each State shall enact appropriate legislation to 
assure that the body having authority over the licensing of physicians 
in that State may take any appropriate disciplinary action against a 
physician who violates subsection (b) of this section. The board may 
refuse to admit to examination or refuse to issue a license or renewal 
license to a person who violates subsection (b) of this section.
    (d) Exception.--Subsection (b) does not prohibit a person from 
performing an abortion if at the time of the abortion the person is a 
physician and concludes in good faith according to the physician's best 
medical judgment--
            (1) that the pregnancy is not in the third trimester; or
            (2) that the abortion is necessary to prevent the death or 
        a substantial risk of serious impairment to the physical or 
        mental health of the woman.
    (e) Certification.--A physician who performs an abortion that, 
according to the physician's best medical judgment at the time of the 
abortion, is to abort a viable unborn child during the third trimester 
of the pregnancy shall certify in writing to a State agency designated 
by State law, in such manner as that agency shall prescribe, the 
medical indications supporting the physician's judgment that the 
abortion was authorized by subsection (d)(2). The certification must be 
made on or before the 30th day after the date the abortion was 
performed.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

     This Act takes effect January 1, 2004, and applies only to an 
abortion performed on or after that date.
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