Informed Consent Act

Informed Consent Act

This bill establishes a new criminal offense for knowingly performing an abortion or sterilization procedure without obtaining informed consent, unless the procedure is necessary to save an individual's life or otherwise prevent substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

An individual who performs these procedures absent informed consent is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8498 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8498

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize any abortion or 
 sterilization procedure performed without the informed consent of the 
  person on whom such procedure is performed, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 1, 2020

 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mrs. Walorski, and Ms. Foxx of 
 North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize any abortion or 
 sterilization procedure performed without the informed consent of the 
  person on whom such procedure is performed, 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 Consent Act''.

SEC. 2. ABORTION AND STERILIZATION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 120. Abortion and sterilization without informed consent
    ``(a) Offense.--Whoever, under the circumstances described in 
subsection (b), knowingly performs an abortion or a sterilization 
procedure on a person without the informed consent of such person shall 
be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
    ``(b) Circumstances Described.--For purposes of subsection (a), the 
circumstances described in this subsection are that--
            ``(1) the defendant is an officer, employee, or contractor 
        of the Federal Government;
            ``(2) the defendant is a recipient of Federal funds from 
        the Secretary of Health and Human Services or a program 
        administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; or
            ``(3) the conduct described in subsection (a) occurred in 
        or affected interstate commerce.
    ``(c) Exception.--This section does not apply to an abortion or 
sterilization procedure that, on the basis of the physician's good 
faith clinical judgment, is necessary to save the life of an individual 
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 or reproductive organs of the 
individual, or for which a delay will create serious risk of 
substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 7 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``120. Abortion and sterilization without informed consent.''.
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