[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5319 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5319

To prohibit abortions in the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the 
                 United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 29, 2023

Mr. Weber of Texas (for himself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Williams of 
Texas, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mr. Steube, Mr. Mooney, Mr. Biggs, Mr. 
   Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Babin, and Ms. Hageman) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit abortions in the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the 
                 United States, 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 ``Ban Offshore Abortion Tourism Act'' 
or the ``BOAT Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITING ABORTION IN THE CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 74 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1531 the following:
``Sec. 1532. Abortions in the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of 
              the United States
    ``(a) Offense.--Subject to subsection (b), any person who, in the 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, knowingly 
performs an abortion and thereby kills a human fetus shall be fined 
under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
    ``(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply if--
            ``(1) in reasonable medical judgment, the abortion is 
        necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman 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, but 
        not including psychological or emotional conditions;
            ``(2) the pregnancy is the result of rape against an adult 
        woman, and at least 48 hours prior to the abortion--
                    ``(A) she has obtained counseling for the rape; or
                    ``(B) she has obtained medical treatment for the 
                rape or an injury related to the rape; or
            ``(3) the pregnancy is a result of rape against a minor or 
        incest against a minor, and the rape or incest has been 
        reported at any time prior to the abortion to either--
                    ``(A) a government agency legally authorized to act 
                on reports of child abuse; or
                    ``(B) a law enforcement agency.
    ``(c) Bar to Prosecution.--A woman upon whom an abortion in 
violation of subsection (a) is performed or attempted may not be 
prosecuted under, or for a conspiracy to violate, subsection (a), or 
for an offense under section 2, 3, or 4 of this title based on such a 
violation.
    ``(d) Civil Remedies.--
            ``(1) Civil action by a woman on whom an abortion is 
        performed.--A woman upon whom an abortion has been performed or 
        attempted in violation of any provision of this section may, in 
        a civil action before the appropriate district court of the 
        United States against any person who committed the violation, 
        obtain appropriate relief.
            ``(2) Civil action by a parent of a minor on whom abortion 
        is performed.--A parent of a minor upon whom an abortion has 
        been performed or attempted under an exception provided for in 
        subsection (b)(2)(B), and that was performed in violation of 
        any provision of this section may, in a civil action before the 
        appropriate district court of the United States against any 
        person who committed the violation obtain appropriate relief, 
        unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal 
        conduct.
            ``(3) Appropriate relief.--Appropriate relief in a civil 
        action under this subsection includes--
                    ``(A) objectively verifiable money damages for all 
                injuries, psychological and physical, occasioned by the 
                violation;
                    ``(B) statutory damages equal to three times the 
                cost of the abortion; and
                    ``(C) punitive damages.
            ``(4) Attorneys' fees for plaintiff.--If a plaintiff in a 
        civil action under this subsection prevails, the court shall 
        award a reasonable attorney's fee in favor of the plaintiff 
        against the defendant.
            ``(5) Attorneys' fees for defendant.--If a defendant in a 
        civil action under this subsection prevails and the court finds 
        that the plaintiff's suit was frivolous, the court shall award 
        a reasonable attorney's fee in favor of the defendant against 
        the plaintiff.
            ``(6) Award against woman upon whom abortion is 
        performed.--Except under paragraph (5), in a civil action under 
        this subsection, no damages, attorneys' fees, or other monetary 
        relief may be assessed against the woman upon whom the abortion 
        was performed or attempted.''.
    (b) Table of Sections.--The table of sections for chapter 74 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
1531 the following:

``1532. Abortions in the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the 
                            United States''.
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