[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7016 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7016

 To prohibit discrimination against the unborn on the basis of sex or 
                     race, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 23, 2008

 Mr. Franks of Arizona (for himself, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. 
 Lipinski, Mr. Smith of Texas, and Mr. Pence) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit discrimination against the unborn on the basis of sex or 
                     race, 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 ``Susan B. Anthony Prenatal 
Nondiscrimination Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Sex discrimination findings.--
                    (A) Women are a vital part of American society and 
                culture and possess the same fundamental human rights 
                and civil rights as men.
                    (B) United States law prohibits the dissimilar 
                treatment for males and females who are similarly 
                situated and prohibits sex discrimination in various 
                contexts, including the provision of employment, 
                education, housing, health insurance coverage, and 
                athletics.
                    (C) Sex is an immutable characteristic, and is 
                ascertainable at the earliest stages of human 
                development through existing medical technology and 
                procedures commonly in use, including maternal-fetal 
                bloodstream DNA sampling, amniocentesis, chorionic 
                villus sampling or ``CVS'', and medical sonography. In 
                addition to medically assisted sex-determination 
                carried out by medical professionals, a growing sex-
                determination niche industry has developed and is 
                marketing low-cost commercial products, widely 
                advertised and available, that aid in the sex 
                determination of an unborn child without the aid of 
                medical professionals. Experts have demonstrated that 
                the sex-selection industry is on the rise and predict 
                that it will continue to be a growing trend in the 
                United States. Sex determination is always a necessary 
                step to the procurement of a sex-selection abortion.
                    (D) A ``sex-selection abortion'' is an abortion 
                undertaken for purposes of eliminating an unborn child 
                of an undesired sex. Sex-selection abortion is 
                barbaric, and described by scholars and civil rights 
                advocates as an act of sex-based or gender-based 
                violence, predicated on sex discrimination. By 
                definition, sex-selection abortions do not implicate 
                the health of the mother of the unborn, but instead are 
                elective procedures motivated by sex or gender bias.
                    (E) The targeted victims of sex-selection abortions 
                performed in the United States and worldwide are 
                overwhelmingly female. The selective abortion of 
                females has been termed ``female infanticide'' and is 
                defined by the United Nations Children's Fund and the 
                United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) in its 2005 
                Programme of Action of the International Conference on 
                Population and Development as the intentional killing 
                of unborn females due to the preference for male 
                offspring or ``son preference''. According to the 
                UNPFA, son preference is reinforced by the low value 
                associated, by some segments of the world community, 
                with female offspring. Those segments tend to regard 
                female offspring as financial burdens to a family over 
                their lifetime due to their perceived inability to earn 
                or provide financially for the family unit as can a 
                male. In addition, due to social and legal convention, 
                female offspring are less likely to carry on the family 
                name. ``Son preference'' is one of the most evident 
                manifestations of sex or gender discrimination in any 
                society, undermining female equality, and fueling the 
                elimination of females' right to exist in instances of 
                sex-selection abortion.
                    (F) Sex-selection abortions are not expressly 
                prohibited by United States law and the laws of 48 
                States. Sex-selection abortions are performed in the 
                United States. In a March 2008 report published in the 
                Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 
                Columbia University economists Douglas Almond and Lena 
                Edlund examined the sex ratio of United States-born 
                children and found ``evidence of sex selection, most 
                likely at the prenatal stage''. The data revealed 
                obvious ``son preference'' in the form of unnatural 
                sex-ratio imbalances within certain segments of the 
                United States population, primarily those segments 
                tracing their ethnic or cultural origins to countries 
                where sex-selection abortion is prevalent. The evidence 
                strongly suggests that some Americans are exercising 
                sex-selection abortion practices within the United 
                States consistent with discriminatory practices common 
                to their country of origin, or the country to which 
                they trace their ancestry. While sex-selection 
                abortions are more common outside the United States, 
                the evidence reveals that female feticide is also 
                occurring in the United States.
                    (G) The American public supports a prohibition of 
                sex-selection abortion. In a March 2006 Zogby 
                International poll, 86 percent of Americans agreed that 
                sex-selection abortion should be illegal, yet only two 
                States have proscribed sex-selection abortion.
                    (H) Despite the failure of the United States to 
                proscribe sex-selection abortion, the United States 
                Congress has expressed repeatedly, through 
                Congressional resolution, strong condemnation of 
                policies promoting sex-selection abortion in the 
                ``Communist Government of China''. Likewise, at the 
                2007 United Nation's Annual Meeting of the Commission 
                on the Status of Women, 51st Session, the United 
                States' delegation spearheaded a resolution calling on 
                countries to eliminate sex-selective abortion, a policy 
                directly contradictory to the permissiveness of current 
                United States' law, which places no restriction on the 
                practice of sex-selection abortion. The 2005 Annual 
                Report of the United Nations Population Fund reflects 
                agreement with the United States' position, stating 
                that aborting a ``girl child'' is ``gender-based 
                violence'', ``one of the most pervasive human rights 
                abuses'', and ``the most extreme form of violence 
                against women''. The United Nations Commission on the 
                Status of Women has urged governments of all nations 
                ``to take necessary measures to prevent . . . prenatal 
                sex selection''.
                    (I) A 1990 report by Harvard University economist 
                Amartya Sen, estimated that more than 100 million women 
                were ``demographically missing'' from the world as 
                early as 1990 due to sexist practices, including sex-
                selection abortion. Many experts believe sex-selection 
                abortion is the primary cause. As of 2008, estimates of 
                women missing from the world range in the hundreds of 
                millions.
                    (J) Countries with longstanding experience with 
                sex-selection abortion--such as the Republic of India, 
                the United Kingdom, and the People's Republic of 
                China--have enacted complete bans on sex-selection 
                abortion, and have steadily continued to strengthen 
                prohibitions and penalties. The United States, by 
                contrast, has no law in place to restrict sex-selection 
                abortion, establishing the United States as affording 
                less protection from sex-based feticide than the 
                Republic of India or the People's Republic of China, 
                whose recent practices of sex-selection abortion were 
                vehemently and repeatedly condemned by United States 
                congressional resolutions and by the United States' 
                Ambassador to the Commission on the Status of Women. 
                Public statements from within the medical community 
                reveal that citizens of other countries come to the 
                United States for sex-selection procedures that would 
                be criminal in their country of origin. Because the 
                United States permits abortion on the basis of sex, the 
                United States may effectively function as a ``safe 
                haven'' for those who seek to have American physicians 
                do what would otherwise be criminal in their home 
                countries--a sex-selection abortion, most likely late-
                term.
                    (K) The American medical community opposes sex-
                selection abortion. The American College of 
                Obstetricians and Gynecologists, commonly known as 
                ``ACOG'', stated in its February 2007 Ethics Committee 
                Opinion, Number 360, that sex-selection is 
                inappropriate for family planning purposes because sex-
                selection ``ultimately supports sexist practices''. 
                Likewise, the American Society for Reproductive 
                Medicine has opined that sex-selection for family 
                planning purposes is ethically problematic, 
                inappropriate, and should be discouraged.
                    (L) Sex-selection abortion results in an unnatural 
                sex ratio imbalance. An unnatural sex ratio imbalance 
                is undesirable, due to the inability of the numerically 
                predominant sex to find mates. Experts worldwide 
                document that a significant sex ratio imbalance in 
                which males numerically predominate can be a cause of 
                increased violence and militancy within a society. 
                Likewise, an unnatural sex ratio imbalance gives rise 
                to the commoditization of humans in the form of human 
                trafficking, and a consequent increase in kidnapping 
                and other violent crime.
                    (M) Sex-selection abortions have the effect of 
                diminishing the representation of women in the American 
                population, and therefore, the American electorate.
                    (N) Sex-selection abortion reinforces sex 
                discrimination and has no place in a civilized society.
            (2) Racial discrimination findings.--
                    (A) Minorities are a vital part of American society 
                and culture and possess the same fundamental human 
                rights and civil rights as the majority.
                    (B) United Sates law prohibits the dissimilar 
                treatment of persons of different races who are 
                similarly situated. United States law prohibits 
                discrimination on the basis of race in various 
                contexts, including the provision of employment, 
                education, housing, health insurance coverage, and 
                athletics.
                    (C) A ``race-selection abortion'' is an abortion 
                performed for purposes of eliminating an unborn child 
                because the child or a parent of the child is of an 
                undesired race. Race-selection abortion is barbaric, 
                and described by civil rights advocates as an act of 
                race-based violence, predicated on race discrimination. 
                By definition, race-selection abortions do not 
                implicate the health of mother of the unborn, but 
                instead are elective procedures motivated by race bias.
                    (D) No State has enacted law to proscribe the 
                performance of race-selection abortions.
                    (E) Race-selection abortions have the effect of 
                diminishing the number of minorities in the American 
                population and therefore, the American electorate.
                    (F) Race-selection abortion reinforces racial 
                discrimination and has no place in a civilized society.
            (3) General finding.--
                    (A) The history of the United States includes 
                examples of both sex discrimination and race 
                discrimination. The people of the United States 
                ultimately responded in the strongest possible legal 
                terms by enacting constitutional amendments correcting 
                elements of such discrimination. Women, once subjected 
                to sex discrimination that denied them the right to 
                vote, now have that right guaranteed by the 19th 
                amendment. African-Americans, once subjected to race 
                discrimination through slavery that denied them equal 
                protection of the laws, now have that right guaranteed 
                by the 14th amendment. The elimination of 
                discriminatory practices has been and is among the 
                highest priorities and greatest achievements of 
                American history.
                    (B) Implicitly approving the discriminatory 
                practices of sex-selection abortion and race-selection 
                abortion by choosing not to prohibit them will 
                reinforce these inherently discriminatory practices, 
                and evidence a failure to protect a segment of certain 
                unborn Americans because those unborn are of a sex or 
                racial makeup that is disfavored by some segments of 
                American society. Sex-selection and race-selection 
                abortions trivialize the value of the unborn on the 
                basis of sex or race, reinforcing sex and race 
                discrimination, and coarsening society to the humanity 
                of all vulnerable and innocent human life, making it 
                increasingly difficult to protect such life. Thus, 
                Congress has a compelling interest in acting--indeed it 
                must act--to prohibit sex-selection abortion and race-
                selection abortion.
    (b) Constitutional Authority.--In accordance with the above 
findings, Congress enacts the following pursuant to Congress' power 
under section 2 of the 13th amendment and section 5 of the 14th 
amendment to enforce those amendments, including the prohibition on 
government action denying equal protection of the laws, and the power 
to pass all legislation necessary and proper for the carrying into 
execution of these powers.

SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE UNBORN ON THE BASIS OF RACE OR SEX.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 249. Discrimination against the unborn on the basis of race or 
              sex
    ``(a) In General.--Whoever knowingly--
            ``(1) performs an abortion knowing that such abortion is 
        sought based on the sex, gender, color or race of the child, or 
        the race of a parent of that child;
            ``(2) uses force or the threat of force to intentionally 
        injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a 
        sex-selection or race-selection abortion, or attempts to do so; 
        or
            ``(3) solicits or accepts funds for the purpose of 
        financing a sex-selection abortion or a race-selection 
        abortion;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or 
both.
    ``(b) Civil Remedies.--
            ``(1) Injunctive relief.--The Attorney General may in a 
        civil action obtain appropriate prospective injunctive relief 
        to enjoin a violation of subsection (a).
            ``(2) Loss of federal funding.--A violation of subsection 
        (a) shall be deemed for the purposes of title VI of the Civil 
        Rights Act of 1964 to be discrimination prohibited by section 
        601 of that Act.
            ``(3) Private cause of action.--The father, if married to 
        the mother at the time she receives a sex-selection abortion or 
        a race-selection abortion, or, if the mother has not attained 
        the age of 18 years at the time of the abortion, the maternal 
        grandparents of the unborn, may on behalf of the unborn in a 
        civil action obtain appropriate relief with respect to a 
        violation of subsection (a). The court may award a reasonable 
        attorney's fee as part of the costs in an action under this 
        paragraph. Appropriate relief includes money damages for all 
        injuries (whether psychological, physical, or financial, 
        including loss of companionship and support) occasioned by the 
        violation.
    ``(c) Reporting Requirement.--A physician, physician's assistant, 
nurse, counselor, or other medical or mental health professional shall 
report known or suspected violations of any of this section to 
appropriate law enforcement authorities. Whoever violates this 
requirement shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 
1 year, or both.
    ``(d) Expedited Consideration.--It shall be the duty of the United 
States district courts, United States courts of appeal, and the Supreme 
Court of the United States to advance on the docket and to expedite to 
the greatest possible extent the disposition of any matter brought 
under this section.
    ``(e) Exception.--A woman upon whom a sex-selection or race-
selection abortion is performed may not be prosecuted or held civilly 
liable for any violation of this section, or for a conspiracy to 
violate this section.
    ``(f) Definition.--The term `abortion' means the act of using or 
prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, 
device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically 
diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination 
by those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the 
unborn child, unless the act is done with the intent to--
            ``(1) save the life or preserve the health of the unborn 
        child;
            ``(2) remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous 
        abortion; or
            ``(3) remove an ectopic pregnancy.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after 
the item relating to section 248 the following new item:

``249. Discrimination against the unborn on the basis of race or 
                            sex.''.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.

    If any portion of this Act or the application thereof to any person 
or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the 
portions or applications of this Act which can be given effect without 
the invalid portion or application.
                                 <all>