Summary

Creates a new federal criminal rule and private right of action requiring any health care practitioner present when an infant is born alive after an abortion to provide the same level of life‑preserving care that would be given to any child of the same gestational age and to ensure immediate transport and admission to a hospital. The bill requires mandatory reporting of failures to comply, establishes criminal penalties (fines and up to five years in prison) and makes intentionally killing such an infant punishable as homicide, while also allowing the woman on whom the abortion was performed to sue for damages and attorney’s fees. The law also declares that an infant born alive after an abortion is a person entitled to legal protections, defines key terms like “abortion” and “attempt,” and updates chapter headings in federal law that reference abortion-related crimes.

• Creates a federal duty for practitioners to provide life‑preserving care and immediate hospital transfer to infants born alive after an abortion.
• Requires mandatory reporting to state or federal law enforcement of known failures to provide required care or transfer.
• Violations can lead to fines, up to five years imprisonment, or both; intentional killing of such an infant is prosecuted as homicide.
• The pregnant woman may not be prosecuted under the new criminal provision for violations covered by the law.
• Gives the woman on whom the abortion was performed a private right to sue for compensatory, statutory (triple cost), and punitive damages plus attorney’s fees.
• Defines key terms including “abortion” and “attempt,” and broadens the federal chapter heading to refer to abortions generally.
• Does not appropriate funds or set an explicit effective date; enforcement depends on criminal and civil procedures.
• Applies to any practitioner or facility staff present at the birth, and to hospitals, clinics, and physician offices through reporting duties.