Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

The bill would add a new section to the federal criminal code requiring any health care practitioner present when an infant is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to provide the same professional skill, care, and diligence that a reasonably conscientious practitioner would give any other newborn of the same gestational age, and to immediately transport and admit that infant to a hospital. Any practitioner or facility employee with knowledge of a failure to meet those requirements would be required to report it immediately to state or federal law enforcement. Failing to provide the required care or failing to report a known violation would be a federal crime punishable by a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. Intentionally killing or attempting to kill a born-alive infant under these circumstances would be prosecuted as murder.

The bill would explicitly bar criminal prosecution of the mother, whether directly or as a conspirator. It would also give the mother a civil cause of action against any person who violated the care requirements, allowing her to recover compensatory damages for physical and psychological injuries, statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the abortion, and punitive damages, plus attorney's fees if she prevails.

Health care practitioners — physicians, nurses, and other clinical staff — who are present at an abortion or attempted abortion that results in a live birth, as well as employees of hospitals, physician's offices, and abortion clinics who become aware of care failures. Mothers who undergo abortions resulting in live births are protected from prosecution and given civil-suit rights.

Practitioners who do not meet the bill's standard of care, or who fail to report a known violation, would face federal criminal liability — including potential prison sentences — for the first time under a unified federal statute. The civil-remedy provision would give affected mothers a private right to sue for substantial damages, including treble statutory damages, regardless of whether a criminal prosecution is pursued.

The bill is largely self-executing: it inserts a new criminal provision directly into Title 18 that would take effect upon enactment. No rulemaking is specified. Enforcement would fall to state and federal law enforcement agencies to which violations must be reported. Federal prosecutors would handle criminal cases; civil suits by mothers would proceed in federal court. The reporting obligation runs to "an appropriate State or Federal law enforcement agency," leaving discretion over which agency to practitioners and employees. No new agency or oversight body is created.