Sponsors (164)
The bill guarantees equal legal status and mandatory life‑preserving medical care for infants born alive after attempted abortions and increases enforcement and private remedies for women, but does so by substantially expanding civil and criminal liability, reporting requirements, and federal enforcement in ways that raise costs, legal risk, and chilling effects for clinicians and providers.
Infants born alive after an attempted abortion (WHO) must be treated and admitted for the same professional medical care as any newborn, increasing chances of immediate life‑preserving treatment.
Infants who survive an abortion are explicitly granted the same legal protections and status as other newborns, clarifying their rights under federal law.
Women who underwent the abortion (WHO) gain a private right to sue providers who fail to provide required care and can recover compensatory, statutory (triple), and punitive damages, creating an enforcement pathway and potential compensation.
Hospitals and clinicians (WHO) face substantially increased civil liability exposure — including potential triple statutory damages and punitive awards — and resulting higher malpractice risk and costs.
Health care practitioners (WHO) face new criminal penalties, including fines and up to multi-year imprisonment and homicide-level exposure for intentional killing, substantially raising personal legal risk.
Mandatory reporting to law enforcement and the heightened legal scrutiny (WHAT) could deter clinicians from providing or attempting certain abortion-related care and invite more criminal investigations into medical settings.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Declares infants born alive after abortions legal persons, mandates medical care and hospital transfer, creates federal crimes and civil damages for violations, and bars prosecution of the mother.
Declares that any infant born alive after an abortion is a legal person entitled to the same protections as other newborns and creates a new federal crime and civil cause of action for failures to provide care. It requires any health care practitioner present at such a birth to provide the same level of care given to any child born at the same gestational age, ensures immediate transport and hospital admission, mandates reporting of noncompliance to law enforcement, establishes criminal penalties (including fines and prison up to five years and homicide-level penalties for intentional killing), and permits civil suits with damages and fee-shifting; the bill also bars prosecution of the pregnant woman and retitles an existing chapter to "Abortions."
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Ann Wagner · Last progress January 24, 2025