To prohibit certain late term abortions.

February 11, 2003

Mr. EDWARDS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

To prohibit certain late term abortions.

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 `Late Term Abortion Ban Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITED ACTS INVOLVING ABORTION; DISCIPLINARY PROVISIONS; REPORTING.

(a) DEFINITIONS- In this section:

(1) The term `abortion' means an act involving the use of an instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance or device developed to terminate the pregnancy of a woman if the act is done with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth of the unborn child of the woman, to preserve the life or health of the child, or to remove a dead fetus.

(2) The term `physician' means an individual licensed to practice medicine.

(3) The term `viable' means the stage of fetal development when, in the good faith medical judgment of the attending physician based on the particular facts of the case, an unborn child possesses the capacity to live outside its mother's womb after its premature birth resulting from any cause.

(4) The term `State' includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

(b) PROHIBITION- Except as provided by subsection (d), a person may not intentionally or knowingly perform an abortion on a woman who is pregnant with a viable unborn child during the third trimester of the pregnancy.

(c) SANCTION- Each State shall enact appropriate legislation to assure that the body having authority over the licensing of physicians in that State may take any appropriate disciplinary action against a physician who violates subsection (b) of this section. The board may refuse to admit to examination or refuse to issue a license or renewal license to a person who violates subsection (b) of this section.

(d) EXCEPTION- Subsection (b) does not prohibit a person from performing an abortion if at the time of the abortion the person is a physician and concludes in good faith according to the physician's best medical judgment--

(1) that the pregnancy is not in the third trimester; or

(2) that the abortion is necessary to prevent the death or a substantial risk of serious impairment to the physical or mental health of the woman.

(e) CERTIFICATION- A physician who performs an abortion that, according to the physician's best medical judgment at the time of the abortion, is to abort a viable unborn child during the third trimester of the pregnancy shall certify in writing to a State agency designated by State law, in such manner as that agency shall prescribe, the medical indications supporting the physician's judgment that the abortion was authorized by subsection (d)(2). The certification must be made on or before the 30th day after the date the abortion was performed.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act takes effect January 1, 2004, and applies only to an abortion performed on or after that date.

END