Sponsors (18)
The bill creates federal criminal and civil enforcement against a narrowly defined abortion method—seeking to deter its use and provide legal remedies for patients—while shielding patients from prosecution, but in doing so it raises criminal and financial risks for providers, may chill clinical care and access (especially in second trimester cases), and increases privacy and interstate legal conflicts.
Women who undergo the defined 'dismemberment' procedure are shielded from criminal prosecution under the federal prohibition.
Women (and some parents of minors) who are subject to a prohibited procedure gain a private enforcement mechanism allowing recovery of compensatory, statutory (3x cost), and punitive damages plus attorney fees.
The federal criminal prohibition creates an enforcement avenue that may deter performance of the specified 'dismemberment' procedures across state lines.
Physicians and other abortion providers face new federal criminal penalties (up to 2 years), increasing the risk of criminalization of medical care.
The bill's definition of 'unborn child' from fertilization and tight prohibition of certain techniques may criminalize or chill a range of second‑trimester abortion practices, complicating clinical decision‑making and potentially harming patient health and safety.
Civil liability (statutory treble damages and potential punitive awards plus attorney fees) increases financial and malpractice risk for providers and clinics, likely raising defense costs, reducing provider willingness to offer services, and increasing costs or reducing access for patients.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal criminal ban on "dismemberment abortions" with penalties and new civil remedies against providers, with a life-of-the-mother exception.
Creates a federal criminal ban on so-called “dismemberment abortions,” making it a federal offense for a physician to knowingly perform that procedure in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, punishable by fines and up to two years in prison and including a life-of-the-mother exception for physical conditions. The bill also establishes civil causes of action allowing women (and, in some cases, parents of minors) to seek compensatory, statutory (three times the cost of the abortion), and punitive damages, plus attorney’s fees, while shielding the woman from criminal liability under this provision.
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit dismemberment abortions, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 30, 2026 by Kat Cammack · Last progress April 30, 2026