SAVING VIABLE INFANTS BILL

PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 2003 REVISED

This proposed Bill includes the Dilation & Evacuation D&E Late-Term Abortion Ban Draft coupled to the already enacted Partial Birth Abortion (Dilation and Extraction D&X) Ban Act of 2003, since both methods are used for termination of identical aged infants (21 to 27 weeks lmp) for purely elective reasons.

“VIABLE INFANTS ABORTION BAN ACT BILL”  (A DRAFT)

One Hundred Twelfth Congress of the United States of America:  On this date……., 2012

An Act:  To Prohibit the practice commonly known as Late-Term D&E Dismemberment-Abortion of Post-20/21-Weeks’-Gestation Unborn Infants.  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 ‘Post-Twenty-Weeks’ D&E Dismemberment-Abortion Ban Act of 2011′ combined with the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 Revised.

SECTION 2:  FINDINGS:  This Congress finds and declares the following:

(1)

A moral, medical and ethical consensus exists that the practice of performing a late-term second-trimester D&E  (dilation and evacuation) “dismemberment” abortion on an infant in the womb at a gestation age of over-20/21-weeks’ gestation (lmp) for purely elective reason/s – an abortion procedure in which a physician inserts a long, toothed clamp into the uterus of the mother, grasping at random to secure and dismember the arms and legs of the child and withdraw them from the mother’s body, subsequently grasping and removing the child’s torso in pieces, then crushing the infant’s head in order to extract it through the vaginal canal, finally scraping the lining of the uterus and vacuuming any remaining fetal parts and placenta by suction (sometimes, but far from universally guided by ultrasound) – is never medically necessary and the killing of such potentially viable infants (in number, approximating 20,000 per year in the United States of America) by this gruesome, painful and inhumane D&E method (and/or by any other method) should be prohibited.

(2)

(A)The 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act (Measure Number S.3 As Amended) – hereinafter referred to as the ’03 PBA Ban Act for brevity – as signed into law by President George W. Bush contain the following findings in Section 2, subsection (14), paragraphs (M) and (N);  ”The vast majority of babies killed during partial-birth abortions are alive until the end of the procedure.  It is a medical fact, however, that unborn infants at this stage can feel pain when subjected to painful stimuli and that their perception of this pain is even more intense than that of newborn infants and older children when subjected to the same stimuli.  Thus, during the partial-birth procedure, the child will fully experience the pain associated with piercing his or her skull and sucking out his or her brain.  Implicitly approving such a brutal and inhumane procedure by choosing not to prohibit it will further coarsen society to the humanity of not only newborns, but all vulnerable and innocent human life.  Thus Congress has a compelling interest in acting — indeed it must act — to prohibit this inhumane procedure.”

(B)  It is a fact that the abortion of infants by the now-banned partial-birth abortion (D&X) method – prior to 2003 then numbering approximately 3,000 babies a year in the United States of America – were performed at “normally twenty weeks or longer in gestation” (’03 PBA Ban Act, Section 2, subsection (14) paragraph (I)), the very same age of gestation at twenty weeks or longer as the approximately 20,000 babies now annually aborted by late-term second-trimester D&E “dismemberment” abortion method.  It is furthermore a medical fact that the unborn infants at this stage can feel intense pain when subjected to the dismemberment of their limbs and the tearing apart of their torsos, and that the perception of this pain is even more intense than the pain felt during the other gruesome and inhumane procedure of now-banned partial birth abortion.  Thus, during a D&E “dismemberment” late-term abortion procedure at post-twenty weeks age of gestation, a child will fully and for an extended duration experience pain associated with the disassembly and destruction of its tiny body.

(C)  Thus, as with the identical rationale found by Congress in banning partial-birth abortion, implicitly approving such a brutal, pain-inflicting and inhumane procedure in the continuation of late-term post-twenty-weeks age of gestation D&E “dismemberment” abortion, by choosing not to prohibit it, will further coarsen society to the humanity of not only newborns, but all vulnerable and innocent human life, making it increasingly difficult to protect such life.  Thus Congress has a compelling interest in acting —  indeed it must act  –  to prohibit this inhumane practice of aborting infants at post twenty weeks gestation by D&E “dismemberment” abortion – and/or by any other method – when at such age/s they are potentially (and in the majority of cases they are in fact) viable.

(D)  The ’03 PBA Ban Act Section (2), subsection 14, paragraphs (l) and (O) furthermore concluded that:  ”The gruesome and inhumane nature of the partial-birth abortion procedure and its disturbing similarity to the killing of a newborn infant promotes a complete disregard for infant human life that can only be countered by a prohibition of the procedure.  For these reasons, Congress finds that partial-birth abortion is never medically indicated to preserve the health of the mother ….(and) blurs the line between abortion and infanticide in the killing of a partially-born child just inches from birth…”

(E)  Since in fact the gestation age of 3,000 infants killed annually by the D&X partial-birth abortion procedure prior to 2003 is precisely the same as the gestation age of the 20,000 infants now killed annually by late-term second-trimester D&E “dismemberment” abortion procedure (“normally twenty weeks or longer in gestation” per ’03 PBA Ban Act language) – in fact, mostly from 21 through 27 weeks gestation lmp – the same compelling rationale must apply to D&E “dismemberment” abortion as did to D&X partial-birth abortion.  Whether the child is just a few inches from birth and is still partially in the birth canal before being killed by scissors thrust into the back of his or her head or whether the child is just several more inches from birth and still in the womb when being killed by having his or her limbs and torso torn apart with toothed forcepts, is immaterial.  In both cases, the line between abortion and infanticide is blurred and should, therefore, be banned.

(3)

(A)  The ’03 PBA Ban Act findings (Section 2, subsection (5)) further concluded that:  ”However, substantial evidence presented at the Stenberg trial and overwhelmong evidence presented and compiled at extensive congressional hearings, much of which were compiled after the district court hearing in Stenberg, and thus not included in the Stenberg trial record, demonstrates that a partial-birth abortion is never necessary to preserve the health of a woman, poses significant health risks to a woman upon whom the procedure is performed, and is outside the standard of medical care.”  Furthermore, in ’03 PBA Ban Act Section (2), subsection (14), paragraph (E), Congress found that :  ”The physician credited with developing the partial-birth abortion procedure has testified that he has never encountered a situation where partial-birth abortion was medically necessary to achieve the desired outcome and, thus, is never medically necessary to preserve the health of a woman.”  The 2003 PBA Ban Act goes on to conclude in Section (2), subsection (14), paragraph (G) that:  ”In light of this overwhelming evidence, Congress and the States have a compelling interest in prohibiting partial birth abortions:  In addition to promoting maternal health, such a prohibition will draw a bright line that clearly distinguishes abortion and infanticide, that preserves the integrity of the medical profession, and promotes respect for human life.”

(B)  Just as with partial-birth abortion (above), the very same factors apply to late-term second-trimester post-21-weeks gestation D&E “dismemberment” abortion, in terms of (i) banning this D&E “dismemberment” procedure is warranted because it is similarly never performed in order to preserve the health of a woman, and (ii) banning the procedure will mitigate the possibility of perforating the woman’s uterus by the use of  long grooved grasping clamps (often without the aid of ultrasound monitoring), and (iii) banning the procedure will continue the process of drawing a bright line in the United States of America that clearly distinguishes abortion and infanticide, and (iv) banning the late-term D&E “dismemberment” abortion procedure that is evidently always performed for elective reason/s enhances the integrity of the medical profession, and (v) banning late-term D&E “dismemberment” abortion of potentially and factually viable infants in the womb promotes further the respect for human life.

SECTION 3:  PROHIBITION ON LATE-TERM (POST-21-WEEKS’ 2nd-TRIMESTER) D&E “DISMEMBERMENT” ABORTIONS.

(a)  IN GENERAL –  TITLE 18, United States Code, IS AMENDED BY MAKING THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONS TO CHAPTER 74 PREVIOUSLY TITLED “PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONS”:

CHAPTER 74 REVISED — PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONS  AND LATE- D&E DISMEMBERMENT ABORTIONS

Sec. 1531.  Partial-birth abortions and late-term D&E Dismemberment abortions prohibited:

(a)  Any physician who, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion or a late-term second-trimester (21 through 27 weeks gestation) D&E Dismemberment abortion and thereby kills a potentially viable human fetus shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. This subsection does not apply to a partial-birth abortion or to a late-term second-trimester D&E Dismemberment abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.  This subsection takes effect 1 day after the enactment.

(b)  As used in this section –

(1)  The terms (A) ‘partial birth abortion’ and (B) ‘late-term second-trimester D&E Dismemberment abortion’ mean abortions in which the person performing the abortion –

(A)  (for ‘partial birth abortion’) deliberately and intentionally vaginally deliver a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of a breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother, for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus; and performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus; or

(B)  (for ‘late-term D&E Dismemberment abortion’) deliberately and intentionally inserts a large toothed grasping clamp or similar instrument into the uterus and grasps the limbs and body body parts of the living, potentially viable fetus for the purpose of of performing an overt act that the person knows will shred the potentially-viable fetus into multiple fetal pieces, firstly stripping the extremeties of the fetus from his or her body, then shredding the torso of the fetus, and finally crushing the skull of the fetus – prior to removing most of the fetal parts through the vaginal canal and using suction to remove the remaining parts and placenta from the uterus –  and knows that it will inflict pain and kill the living, potentially viable fetus; and

(2) the term ‘physician’ means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy legally authorized to practice medicine and surgery by the State in which the doctor performs such activity, or any other individual legally authorized by the State to perform abortions:  Provided, however, That any individual who is not a physician or not otherwise legally authorized by the State to perform abortions, but who nevertheless directly performs a partial-birth abortion or a late-term second-trimester D&E Dismemberment abortion, shall be subject to the provisions of this section.

( c) (1)  The father, if married to the mother at the time she receives a partial birth abortion procedure or a late-term D&E Dismemberment abortion procedure, and if the mother has not attained the age of 18 years at the time of the abortion, the maternal grandparents of the fetus, may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief, unless the pregnancy resulted from the the plaintiff’s criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion.

(c) (2)  Such relief shall include –

(A)  money damages for all injuries, psychological and physical, occasioned by the violation of this section; and

(B)  statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the partial-birth abortion or the late-term second-trimester D&E abortion.

(d) (1)  A defendant accused of an offense under this sectioon may seek a hearing before the State medical Board on whether the physician’s conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother whose life was endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.

(d) (2)  The findings on that issue are admissible on that issue at the trial of the defendant.  Upon a motion of the defendant, the court shall delay the beginning of the trial for not more than 30 days to permit such a hearing to take place.

(e)  A woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion or a late-term second-trimester D&E Dismemberment abortion is performed may not be prosecuted under this section, for a conspiracy to violate this section, or for an offense under section 2, 3 or 4 of this title based on a violation of this section.

CLERICAL AMENDMENT – The table of chapters for part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 73 the following amended new item:–1531

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.

____________________________________________________________

Postscript:  President Obama may veto such a Bill if such a Bill were to be passed by both House and Senate (just as President Clinton vetoed the partial-birth abortion bills several times during the 1990s and early 2000s).  It took nearly two decades to enact the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and have it finally upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.  Those factors should not delay the moving forward to enact a Ban on the gruesome, extremely painful and brutal late-term D&E “Dismemberment” Abortion procedure practiced on 20,000 potentially viable babies in the United States of America every year.

U.S. Congressmen and Senators should consider carefully the facts presented herein.  They comprise facts that the vast majority of Americans are unaware of.  Indeed many – if not most – U.S. and State legislators are unaware of the facts surrounding late-term D&E abortion of viable infants.  This should be an enlightenment period because the cruel procedure that we Americans are perpetrating on our unborn viable children cannot continue without the demise of our nation’s moral culture.

Note:  Proof on the subject of viability of infants in the womb based on infants born extremely prematurely at 22, 23, 24 and 25 weeks lmp gestation are contained in several earlier cccf.wordpress blog posts that research and analyze several major medical studies conducted in the United States (by the NIH/NICHD) and in the United Kingdom (EPICure 2).  The conclusions are irrefutable in that infant viability is now positively determined to be 22 weeks lmp gestation or earlier (certainly not 24 weeks and most certainly not 28 weeks as guessed at by Supreme Court justices who passed Roe v. Wade nearly 40 years ago).