117 HR 6536 IH: Stopping Traffickers and Their Accomplices Act of 2022
U.S. House of Representatives
2022-02-01
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EN
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I
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6536
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 1, 2022
Mr. Budd introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 to require abortion providers to notify the national human trafficking hotline of victims of trafficking, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Stopping Traffickers and Their Accomplices Act of 2022”.
2.

Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
Slavery and involuntary servitude are incompatible with American society and law.
(2)
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished legal slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.
(3)
Despite slavery being abolished in 1865, modern forms of slavery still exist throughout the United States.
(4)
Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans and immigrants are coerced into commercial sex acts against their will.
(5)
In addition to sexual exploitation, victims of trafficking suffer repeated physical, mental, and emotional abuse at the hands of their traffickers.
(6)
Abortion providers and facilities aid sex traffickers by turning a blind eye to the plight of abused women.
(7)
The Department of State’s 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report indicated that sex traffickers coerce women into receiving abortions against their will.
(8)
Research conducted by Laura J. Lederer and Christopher A. Wetzel, entitled “The Health Consequences of Sex Trafficking and Their Implications for Identifying Victims in Healthcare Facilities” published in the Annals of Health Law Journal, indicated that 71 percent of women coerced into commercial sex acts reported at least one pregnancy and 21 percent reported five or more pregnancies while trafficked (23 Annals Health L. 61 (2014)).
(9)
Lederer and Wetzel’s research found that almost a third of women trafficked reported underwent numerous abortions as victims of trafficking. More than half of respondents answered that their abortion while a victim of sex trafficking was a result of coercion. One victim of sex trafficking recounted, “[in most of my six abortions,] I was under serious pressure from my pimps to abort the babies”.
(10)
A moral obligation exists to report suspected instances of sex trafficking to authorities.
(11)
Section 2 of the 13th Amendment empowers Congress to enact appropriate legislation to combat all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude, including forced sex trafficking.
3.

Combat human trafficking
Section 114 of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (34 U.S.C. 20709) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(g)

National human trafficking hotline notification by abortion providers
(1)

Requirement
(A)

Notification to national human trafficking hotline
Not later than 24 hours after consulting with a patient, an abortion provider shall notify the national human trafficking hotline if the provider has a reasonable suspicion that the patient is a victim of trafficking.
(B)

Report to Attorney General and local law enforcement
Not later than 24 hours after an abortion provider notifies the national human trafficking hotline under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall notify the Attorney General of such notification by the abortion provider. Not later than 24 hours after receipt of a notification from the Secretary of Health and Human Services under this subparagraph, the Attorney General shall notify the appropriate State and local law enforcement agencies.
(C)

Penalty
An abortion provider who violates subparagraph (A) shall be fined $10,000, imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.
(2)

Training
(A)

Availability
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make available to abortion providers the training entitled “Foundational (101) Human Trafficking Trainings—SOAR For Health Care” (or any substantially similar successor training).
(B)

Requirement
Each abortion provider shall complete the training provided under subparagraph (A) on an annual basis and prior to January 30 of each calendar year, and certify such completion to the Director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons of the Department of Health and Human Services. The certification under this subparagraph shall include the protocols that the abortion provider has in place to identify and assist victims of trafficking.
(C)

Penalty
An abortion provider who fails to comply with subparagraph (B) shall be subject to a fine in an amount of $1,000 per day of noncompliance.
(3)

Rules of construction
(A)

No requirement for victims of trafficking to self-report
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to require a victim of trafficking to self-report.
(B)

No right to abortion
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to provide a right to an abortion.
(4)

Definitions
In this subsection:
(A)
The term abortion provider means a person who—
(i)
performs an abortion and is licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery; or
(ii)
is otherwise legally authorized to perform an abortion.
(B)
The term victim of trafficking has the meaning given to such term in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).” .