[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 216 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 216

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants 
 to nonprofit tax-exempt organizations for the purchase of ultrasound 
 equipment to provide free examinations to pregnant women needing such 
                   services, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants 
 to nonprofit tax-exempt organizations for the purchase of ultrasound 
 equipment to provide free examinations to pregnant women needing such 
                   services, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Informed Choice Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR PURCHASE OF ULTRASOUND EQUIPMENT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human services may 
make grants for the purchase of ultrasound equipment. Such ultrasound 
equipment shall be used by the recipients of such grants to provide, 
under the direction and supervision of a licensed medical physician, 
free ultrasound examinations to pregnant women needing such services.
    (b) Eligibility Requirements.--An entity may receive a grant under 
subsection (a) only if the entity meets the following conditions:
            (1) The entity is a nonprofit private organization that is 
        approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt entity 
        under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            (2) The entity operates as a community based pregnancy help 
        medical clinic, as defined in subsection (f).
            (3) The entity provides medical services to pregnant women 
        under the guidance and supervision of a physician who serves as 
        the medical director of the clinic and is duly licensed to 
        practice medicine in the State in which the entity is located.
            (4) The entity is legally qualified to provide such medical 
        services to pregnant women and is in compliance with all 
        Federal, State, and local requirements for the provision of 
        such services.
            (5) The entity agrees to comply with the following medical 
        procedures:
                    (A) Each pregnant woman upon whom the ultrasound 
                equipment is used will be shown the visual image of the 
                fetus from the ultrasound examination and will be given 
                a general anatomical and physiological description of 
                the characteristics of the fetus.
                    (B) Each pregnant woman will be given, according to 
                the best medical judgment of the physician performing 
                the ultrasound examination or the physician's agent 
                performing such exam, the approximate age of the embryo 
                or fetus considering the number of weeks elapsed from 
                the probable time of the conception of the embryo or 
                fetus, based upon the information provided by the 
                client as to the time of her last menstrual period, her 
                medical history, a physical examination, or appropriate 
                laboratory tests.
                    (C) Each pregnant woman will be given information 
                on abortion and alternatives to abortion such as 
                childbirth and adoption and information concerning 
                public and private agencies that will assist in those 
                alternatives.
                    (D) The entity will obtain and maintain medical 
                malpractice insurance in an amount not less than 
                $1,000,000, and such insurance will cover all 
                activities relating to the use of the ultrasound 
                machine purchased with the grant under subsection (a).
            (6) The entity does not receive more than 30 percent of its 
        gross annual revenue from a single source or donor.
    (c) Limitation on Individual Grant Amount.--No grant under 
subsection (a) may be made in an amount that exceeds an amount equal to 
50 percent of the purchase price cost of the ultrasound machine 
involved, or $20,000, whichever is less.
    (d) Application for Grant.--A grant may be made under subsection 
(a) only if an application for the grant is submitted to the Secretary 
and the application is in such form, is made in such manner, and 
contains such agreements, assurances, and information as the Secretary 
determines to be necessary to carry out this section.
    (e) Annual Report to Secretary.--A grant may be made under 
subsection (a) only if the applicant for the grant agrees to report on 
an annual basis to the Secretary, in such form and manner as the 
Secretary may require, on the ongoing compliance of the applicant with 
the eligibility conditions established in subsection (b).
    (f) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``community based pregnancy help medical 
        clinic'' means a facility that--
                    (A) provides free medical services to pregnant 
                women under the supervision and direction of a licensed 
                physician who serves as the medical director for such 
                clinic; and
                    (B) does not charge for any services rendered to 
                its clients, whether or not such services are for 
                pregnancy or nonpregnancy related matters.
            (2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 
for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
fiscal years 2006 through 2008.
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