[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3802 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3802

To require an abortion provider, before performing an abortion, to wait 
                   for a period of at least 24 hours.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 23, 2012

    Mr. Duncan of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South 
  Carolina, and Mr. Jordan) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require an abortion provider, before performing an abortion, to wait 
                   for a period of at least 24 hours.

    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 ``National Pro-Life Waiting Period Act 
of 2012''.

SEC. 2. WAITING PERIOD PRIOR TO PERFORMANCE OF ABORTION.

    No abortion provider engaged in interstate or foreign commerce 
shall perform an abortion without having--
            (1) obtained a written certification from the pregnant 
        woman certifying the date and time of her first in-person 
        meeting with the abortion provider to seek the abortion; and
            (2) waited for a period of at least 24 hours beginning at 
        the time of obtaining such certification.

SEC. 3. EXCEPTION FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES.

    (a) Exception.--The provisions of section 2 shall not apply if the 
abortion is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is 
endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical 
injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or 
arising from the pregnancy itself.
    (b) Certification.--
            (1) In general.--Upon a determination by an abortion 
        provider under subsection (a) that an abortion is necessary to 
        save the life of a mother, such provider shall certify the 
        specific medical conditions that support such determination and 
        include such certification in the medical file of the pregnant 
        woman.
            (2) False statements.--An abortion provider who willfully 
        falsifies a certification under paragraph (1) shall be subject 
        to all the penalties provided for under section 4 for failure 
        to comply with this Act.

SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY.

    (a) Civil Penalties.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall assess a civil 
        penalty against any abortion provider who violates this Act in 
        an amount not to exceed--
                    (A) $100,000 in the case of the first such 
                violation; and
                    (B) $250,000 in the case of any subsequent such 
                violation.
            (2) Notification.--Upon the assessment of a civil penalty 
        under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall notify the 
        appropriate State medical licensing authority.
    (b) Private Right of Action.--A pregnant woman upon whom an 
abortion has been performed in violation of this Act, or the parent or 
legal guardian of such a woman if she is an unemancipated minor, may 
commence a civil action against the abortion provider for any willful 
violation of this Act for actual and punitive damages.

SEC. 5. WAITING PERIODS UNDER STATE LAW.

    This Act does not affect the duration of any waiting period 
required under State law that is equal to or longer than the duration 
of the waiting period required by section 2(2).

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``abortion'' means the intentional use or 
        prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or other 
        device, substance, or method to terminate the life of an unborn 
        child, or to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be 
        pregnant with an intention other than--
                    (A) to produce a live birth and preserve the life 
                and health of the child after live birth; or
                    (B) to remove an ectopic pregnancy, or to remove a 
                dead unborn child who died as the result of a 
                spontaneous abortion, accidental trauma, or a criminal 
                assault on the pregnant female or her unborn child.
            (2) The term ``abortion provider'' means any individual or 
        entity that performs an abortion.
            (3) The term ``unemancipated minor'' means a minor who is 
        subject to the control, authority, and supervision of his or 
        her parents or guardians, as determined under State law.
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