,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ach  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,january #bd        
7legislative day1 ,january #c71 #bjac   
,mr4 ,vitter 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,coats1 
,mr4 ,boozman1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,enzi1 
,mr4 ,coburn1 ,mr4 ,chambliss1 and ,mr4 
,johanns7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a    
,,bill  ,to prohibit discrimination     
against the unborn on the basis of sex  
or gender1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,prenatal ,nondiscrimination ,act   
7,,prenda7 of #bjac4  #b4 ,findings and 
,constitutional authority  7a7 ,findings
 ,the ,congress makes the following     
findings3  7#a7 ,women are a vital part 
of ,american society and culture and    
possess the same fundamental human      
rights and civil rights as men4  7#b7   
,united ,states law prohibits the       
dissimilar treatment of males and       
females who are similarly situated and  

prohibits sex discrimination in various 
contexts1 including the provision of    
employment1 education1 housing1 health  
insurance coverage1 and athletics4  7#c7
 ,sex is an immutable characteristic    
ascertainable at the earliest stages of 
human development through existing      
medical technology and procedures       
commonly in use1 including              
maternal-fetal bloodstream ,,dna        
sampling1 amniocentesis1 chorionic      
villus sampling or ,,cvs1 and obstetric 
ultrasound4 ,in addition to medically   
assisted sex determination1 a growing   
sex determination niche industry has    
developed and is marketing low-cost     
commercial products1 widely advertised  
and available1 that aid in the sex      
determination of an unborn child without
 the aid of medical professionals4      
,experts have demonstrated that the     
sex-selection industry is on the rise   
and predict that it will continue to be 
a growing trend in the ,united ,states4 
,sex determination is always a necessary

 step to the procurement of a           
sex-selection abortion4  7#d7 ,a        
sex-selection abortion is an abortion   
undertaken for purposes of eliminating  
an unborn child based on the sex or     
gender of the child4 ,sex-selection     
abortion is barbaric1 and described by  
scholars and civil rights advocates as  
an act of sex-based or gender-based     
violence1 predicated on sex             
discrimination4 ,sex-selection abortions
 are typically late-term abortions      
performed in the #bnd or #crd trimester 
of pregnancy1 after the unborn child has
 developed sufficiently to feel pain4   
,substantial medical evidence proves    
that an unborn child can experience pain
 at #bj weeks after conception1 and     
perhaps substantially earlier4 ,by      
definition1 sex-selection abortions do  
not implicate the health of the mother  
of the unborn1 but instead are elective 
procedures motivated by sex or gender   
bias4  7#e7 ,the targeted victims of    
sex-selection abortions performed in the

 ,united ,states and worldwide are      
overwhelmingly female4 ,the selective   
abortion of females is female           
infanticide1 the intentional killing of 
unborn females1 due to the preference   
for male offspring or son preference4   
,son preference is reinforced by the low
 value associated1 by some segments of  
the world community1 with female        
offspring4 ,those segments tend to      
regard female offspring as financial    
burdens to a family over their lifetime 
due to their perceived inability to earn
 or provide financially for the family  
unit as can a male4 ,in addition1 due to
 social and legal convention1 female    
offspring are less likely to carry on   
the family name4 ,son preference is one 
of the most evident manifestations of   
sex or gender discrimination in any     
society1 undermining female equality1   
and fueling the elimination of females' 
right to exist in instances of          
sex-selection abortion4  7#f7           
,sex-selection abortions are not        

expressly prohibited by ,united ,states 
law or the laws of #dg ,states4         
,sex-selection abortions are performed  
in the ,united ,states4 ,in a ,march    
#bjjh report published in the           
,proceedings of the ,national ,academy  
of ,sciences1 ,columbia ,university     
economists ,douglas ,almond and ,lena   
,edlund examined the sex ratio of       
,united ,states-born children and found 
evidence of sex selection1 most likely  
at the prenatal stage4 ,the data        
revealed obvious son preference in the  
form of unnatural sex-ratio imbalances  
within certain segments of the ,united  
,states population1 primarily those     
segments tracing their ethnic or        
cultural origins to countries where     
sex-selection abortion is prevalent4    
,the evidence strongly suggests that    
some ,americans are exercising          
sex-selection abortion practices within 
the ,united ,states consistent with     
discriminatory practices common to their
 country of origin1 or the country to   

which they trace their ancestry4 ,while 
sex-selection abortions are more common 
outside the ,united ,states1 the        
evidence reveals that female feticide is
 also occurring in the ,united ,states4 
7#g7 ,the ,american public supports a   
prohibition of sex-selection abortion4  
,in a ,march #bjjf ,zogby ,international
 poll1 #hf percent of ,americans agreed 
that sex-selection abortion should be   
illegal1 yet only #c ,states proscribe  
sex-selection abortion4  7#h7 ,despite  
the failure of the ,united ,states to   
proscribe sex-selection abortion1 the   
,united ,states ,congress has expressed 
repeatedly1 through ,congressional      
resolution1 strong condemnation of      
policies promoting sex-selection        
abortion in the ,communist ,government  
of ,china4 ,likewise1 at the #bjjg      
,united ,nation's ,annual ,meeting of   
the ,commission on the ,status of       
,women1 #east ,session1 the ,united     
,states delegation spearheaded a        
resolution calling on countries to      

condemn sex-selective abortion1 a policy
 directly contradictory to the          
permissiveness of current ,united       
,states law1 which places no restriction
 on the practice of sex-selection       
abortion4 ,the ,united ,nations         
,commission on the ,status of ,women has
 urged governments of all nations to    
take necessary measures to prevent '''  
prenatal sex selection4  7#i7 ,a #aiij  
report by ,harvard ,university economist
 ,amartya ,sen1 estimated that more than
 #ajj million women were demographically
 missing from the world as early as     
#aiij due to sexist practices1 including
 sex-selection abortion4 ,many experts  
believe sex-selection abortion is the   
primary cause4 ,current estimates of    
women missing from the world range in   
the hundreds of millions4  7#aj7        
,countries with longstanding experience 
with sex-selection abortion--such as the
 ,republic of ,india1 the ,united       
,kingdom1 and the ,people's ,republic of
 ,china--have enacted restrictions on   

sex-selection1 and have steadily        
continued to strengthen prohibitions and
 penalties4 ,the ,united ,states1 by    
contrast1 has no law in place to        
restrict sex-selection abortion1        
establishing the ,united ,states as     
affording less protection from sex-based
 feticide than the ,republic of ,india  
or the ,people's ,republic of ,china1   
whose recent practices of sex-selection 
abortion were vehemently and repeatedly 
condemned by ,united ,states            
congressional resolutions and by the    
,united ,states ,ambassador to the      
,commission on the ,status of ,women4   
,public statements from within the      
medical community reveal that citizens  
of other countries come to the ,united  
,states for sex-selection procedures    
that would be criminal in their country 
of origin4 ,because the ,united ,states 
permits abortion on the basis of sex1   
the ,united ,states may effectively     
function as a safe haven for those who  
seek to have ,american physicians do    

what would otherwise be criminal in     
their home countries--a sex-selection   
abortion1 most likely late-term4  7#aa7 
,the ,american medical community opposes
 sex-selection4 ,the ,american ,congress
 of ,obstetricians and ,gynecologists1  
commonly known as ,,acog1 stated in its 
#bjjg ,ethics ,committee ,opinion1      
,number #cfj1 that sex-selection is     
inappropriate because it ultimately     
supports sexist practices4 ,the         
,american ,society of ,reproductive     
,medicine 7commonly known as ,,asrm7    
#bjjd ,ethics ,committee ,opinion on    
sex-selection notes that central to the 
controversy of sex-selection is the     
potential for inherent gender           
discrimination1 ''' the risk of         
psychological harm to sex-selected      
offspring 7i4e41 by placing on them     
expectations that are too high71 ''' and
 reinforcement of gender bias in society
 as a whole4 ,embryo sex-selection1     
,,asrm notes1 remains vulnerable to the 
judgment that no matter what its basis1 

the method identifies gender as a reason
 to value one person over another1 and  
it supports socially constructed        
stereotypes of what gender means4 ,in   
doing so1 it not only reinforces        
possibilities of unfair discrimination1 
but may trivialize human reproduction by
 making it depend on the selection of   
nonessential features of offspring4 ,the
 ,,asrm ethics opinion continues1       
ongoing problems with the status of     
women in the ,united ,states make it    
necessary to take account of concerns   
for the impact of sex-selection on goals
 of gender equality4 ,the ,american     
,association of ,pro-,life              
,obstetricians and ,gynecologists1 an   
organization with hundreds of           
members--many of whom are former        
abortionists--makes the following       
declaration3 ,sex selection abortions   
are more graphic examples of the damage 
that abortion inflicts on women4 ,in    
addition to increasing premature labor  
in subsequent pregnancies1 increasing   

suicide and major depression1 and       
increasing the risk of breast cancer in 
teens who abort their first pregnancy   
and delay childbearing1 sex selection   
abortions are often targeted at fetuses 
simply because the fetus is female4 ,as 
physicians who care for both the mother 
and her unborn child1 the ,american     
,association of ,pro-,life              
,obstetricians and ,gynecologists       
vigorously opposes aborting fetuses     
because of their gender44 ,the          
,president's ,council on ,bioethics     
published a ,working ,paper stating the 
council's belief that society's respect 
for reproductive freedom does not       
prohibit the regulation or prohibition  
of sex control1 defined as the use of   
various medical technologies to choose  
the sex of one's child4 ,the publication
 expresses concern that sex control     
might lead to ''' dehumanization and a  
new eugenics4  7#ab7 ,sex-selection     
abortion results in an unnatural        
sex-ratio imbalance4 ,an unnatural      

sex-ratio imbalance is undesirable1 due 
to the inability of the numerically     
predominant sex to find mates4 ,experts 
worldwide document that a significant   
sex-ratio imbalance in which males      
numerically predominate can be a cause  
of increased violence and militancy     
within a society4 ,likewise1 an         
unnatural sex-ratio imbalance gives rise
 to the commoditization of humans in the
 form of human trafficking1 and a       
consequent increase in kidnapping and   
other violent crime4  7#ac7             
,sex-selection abortions have the effect
 of diminishing the representation of   
women in the ,american population1 and  
therefore1 the ,american electorate4    
7#ad7 ,sex-selection abortion reinforces
 sex discrimination and has no place in 
a civilized society4  7#ae7 ,the history
 of the ,united ,states includes        
examples of sex discrimination4 ,the    
people of the ,united ,states ultimately
 responded in the strongest possible    
legal terms by enacting a constitutional

 amendment correcting elements of such  
discrimination4 ,women1 once subjected  
to sex discrimination that denied them  
the right to vote1 now have suffrage    
guaranteed by the #aith amendment4 ,the 
elimination of discriminatory practices 
has been and is among the highest       
priorities and greatest achievements of 
,american history4  7#af7 ,implicitly   
approving the discriminatory practice of
 sex-selection abortion by choosing not 
to prohibit them will reinforce these   
inherently discriminatory practices1 and
 evidence a failure to protect a segment
 of certain unborn ,americans because   
those unborn are of a sex that is       
disfavored4 ,sex-selection abortions    
trivialize the value of the unborn on   
the basis of sex1 reinforcing sex       
discrimination1 and coarsening society  
to the humanity of all vulnerable and   
innocent human life1 making it          
increasingly difficult to protect such  
life4 ,thus1 ,congress has a compelling 
interest in acting--indeed it must      

act--to prohibit sex-selection abortion4
  7b7 ,constitutional authority ,in     
accordance with the above findings1     
,congress enacts the following pursuant 
to ,congress' power under--  7#a7 the   
,commerce ,clause2  7#b7 section #e of  
the #adth amendment1 including the power
 to enforce the prohibition on          
,government action denying equal        
protection of the laws2 and  7#c7       
section #h of article ,i to make all    
laws necessary and proper for the       
carrying into execution of powers vested
 by the ,constitution in the ,government
 of the ,united ,states4  #c4           
,discrimination against the unborn on   
the basis of sex  7a7 ,in general       
,chapter #ac of title #ah1 ,united      
,states ,code1 is amended by adding at  
the end the following3  #bej4           
,discrimination against the unborn on   
the basis of sex  7a7 ,in general       
,whoever knowingly--  7#a7 performs an  
abortion knowing that such abortion is  
sought based on the sex or gender of the

 child2  7#b7 uses force or the threat  
of force to intentionally injure or     
intimidate any person for the purpose of
 coercing a sex-selection abortion2     
7#c7 solicits or accepts funds for the  
performance of a sex-selection abortion2
 or  7#d7 transports a woman into the   
,united ,states or across a ,state line 
for the purpose of obtaining a          
sex-selection abortion2  or attempts to 
do so1 shall be fined under this title  
or imprisoned not more than #e years1 or
 both4  7b7 ,civil remedies  7#a7 ,civil
 action by woman on whom abortion is    
performed ,a woman upon whom an abortion
 has been performed pursuant to a       
violation of subsection 7a77#b7 may in a
 civil action against any person who    
engaged in a violation of subsection 7a7
 obtain appropriate relief4  7#b7 ,civil
 action by relatives ,the father of an  
unborn child who is the subject of an   
abortion performed or attempted in      
violation of subsection 7a71 or a       
maternal grandparent of the unborn child

 if the pregnant woman is an            
unemancipated minor1 may in a civil     
action against any person who engaged in
 the violation1 obtain appropriate      
relief1 unless the pregnancy resulted   
from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or
 the plaintiff consented to the         
abortion4  7#c7 ,appropriate relief     
,appropriate relief in a civil action   
under this subsection includes--  7,a7  
objectively verifiable money damages for
 all injuries1 psychological and        
physical1 including loss of             
companionship and support1 occasioned by
 the violation of this section2 and     
7,b7 punitive damages4  7#d7 ,injunctive
 relief  7,a7 ,in general ,a qualified  
plaintiff may in a civil action obtain  
injunctive relief to prevent an abortion
 provider from performing or attempting 
further abortions in violation of this  
section4  7,b7 ,definition ,in this     
paragraph the term qualified plaintiff  
means--  7i7 a woman upon whom an       
abortion is performed or attempted in   

violation of this section2  7ii7 any    
person who is the spouse or parent of a 
woman upon whom an abortion is performed
 in violation of this section2 or  7iii7
 the ,attorney ,general4  7#e7          
,attorneys fees for plaintiff ,the court
 shall award a reasonable attorney's fee
 as part of the costs to a prevailing   
plaintiff in a civil action under this  
subsection4  7c7 ,loss of ,federal      
,funding ,a violation of subsection 7a7 
shall be deemed for the purposes of     
title ,,vi of the ,civil ,rights ,act of
 #aifd to be discrimination prohibited  
by section #fja of that ,act4  7d7      
,reporting requirement ,a physician1    
physician's assistant1 nurse1 counselor1
 or other medical or mental health      
professional shall report known or      
suspected violations of any of this     
section to appropriate law enforcement  
authorities4 ,whoever violates this     
requirement shall be fined under this   
title or imprisoned not more than #a    
year1 or both4  7e7 ,expedited          

consideration ,it shall be the duty of  
the ,united ,states district courts1    
,united ,states courts of appeal1 and   
the ,supreme ,court of the ,united      
,states to advance on the docket and to 
expedite to the greatest possible extent
 the disposition of any matter brought  
under this section4  7f7 ,exception ,a  
woman upon whom a sex-selection abortion
 is performed may not be prosecuted or  
held civilly liable for any violation of
 this section1 or for a conspiracy to   
violate this section4  7g7 ,protection  
of privacy in court proceedings  7#a7   
,in general ,except to the extent the   
,constitution or other similarly        
compelling reason requires1 in every    
civil or criminal action under this     
section1 the court shall make such      
orders as are necessary to protect the  
anonymity of any woman upon whom an     
abortion has been performed or attempted
 if she does not give her written       
consent to such disclosure4 ,such orders
 may be made upon motion1 but shall be  

made sua sponte if not otherwise sought 
by a party4  7#b7 ,orders to parties1   
witnesses1 and counsel ,the court shall 
issue appropriate orders under paragraph
 7#a7 to the parties1 witnesses1 and    
counsel and shall direct the sealing of 
the record and exclusion of individuals 
from courtrooms or hearing rooms to the 
extent necessary to safeguard her       
identity from public disclosure4 ,each  
such order shall be accompanied by      
specific written findings explaining why
 the anonymity of the woman must be     
preserved from public disclosure1 why   
the order is essential to that end1 how 
the order is narrowly tailored to serve 
that interest1 and why no reasonable    
less restrictive alternative exists4    
7#c7 ,pseudonym required ,in the absence
 of written consent of the woman upon   
whom an abortion has been performed or  
attempted1 any party1 other than a      
public official1 who brings an action   
under this section shall do so under a  
pseudonym4  7#d7 ,limitation ,this      

subsection shall not be construed to    
conceal the identity of the plaintiff or
 of witnesses from the defendant or from
 attorneys for the defendant4  7h7      
,definitions  7#a7 ,the term abortion   
means the act of using or prescribing   
any instrument1 medicine1 drug1 or any  
other substance1 device1 or means with  
the intent to terminate the clinically  
diagnosable pregnancy of a woman1 with  
knowledge that the termination by those 
means will with reasonable likelihood   
cause the death of the unborn child1    
unless the act is done with the intent  
to--  7,a7 save the life or preserve the
 health of the unborn child2  7,b7      
remove a dead unborn child caused by    
spontaneous abortion2 or  7,c7 remove an
 ectopic pregnancy4  7#b7 ,the term     
sex-selection abortion is an abortion   
undertaken for purposes of eliminating  
an unborn child based on the sex or     
gender of the child4  4  7b7 ,clerical  
amendment ,the table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter #ac of title #ah1  

,united ,states ,code1 is amended by    
adding after the item relating to       
section #bdi the following new item3    
#bej4 ,discrimination against the unborn
 on the basis of sex4  4  #d4           
,severability ,if any portion of this   
,act or the application thereof to any  
person or circumstance is held invalid1 
such invalidity shall not affect the    
portions or applications of this ,act   
which can be given effect without the   
invalid portion or application4  #e4    
,rule of construction ,nothing in this  
,act shall be construed to require that 
a healthcare provider has an affirmative
 duty to inquire as to the motivation   
for the abortion1 absent the healthcare 
provider having knowledge or information
 that the abortion is being sought based
 on the sex or gender of the child4