Chemical Abortion Risk Awareness Act

HB7237 adds a new Title XXXIV to the Public Health Service Act. The American Council supports this bill and urges every member of the House to vote yes. Women deserve to know exactly what a chemical abortion drug will do to their bodies before they take it. This bill requires that those warnings be delivered, read aloud, and acknowledged in writing before a woman proceeds.

Who is covered. The bill's requirements apply to any chemical abortion provider who receives federal funds, or who works in, for, or on behalf of a medical practice or company that receives federal funds, and who knowingly performs, induces, or attempts to perform or induce a chemical abortion. Coverage takes effect 30 days after enactment.

Definitions. The bill defines several terms precisely. A "chemical abortion" means the use or prescription of an abortion-inducing drug dispensed with the intent to cause the death of the unborn child. Three categories are expressly excluded from that definition: (i) separation of the mother and her embryo or fetus to prevent the mother's death or immediate irreversible bodily harm, if such death or harm cannot be mitigated in any other way; (ii) treatment of ectopic or molar pregnancy; and (iii) treatment of miscarriage. A "chemical abortion provider" is any person licensed to perform a chemical abortion under applicable federal and state laws. An "unborn child" is defined as a member of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of development prior to birth. A "woman" is defined as a human being with XX chromosomes.

Informed-consent requirements. A covered provider may not knowingly perform, induce, or attempt to perform or induce a chemical abortion unless, not later than 24 hours before the procedure, the provider: (1) gives the woman, in both electronic and paper form, a full FDA-approved product label for each abortion-inducing drug to be used, with the "Warnings and Precautions" and "Adverse Reactions" sections -- or such other similar sections -- highlighted; (2) reads to the woman the full text of those highlighted sections; and (3) receives written confirmation from the woman that requirements (1) and (2) have been fulfilled. All three steps are required; the bill uses "and" to connect them.

Implementation plan. Within 30 days of enactment, each covered provider -- or the entity that provider works in, for, or on behalf of -- must submit to the Secretary a plan for implementing the title's requirements.

Federal funding enforcement. Section 3403 gives the Secretary authority, notwithstanding any other law, to withhold federal funding from a noncompliant provider, from the entity at which that provider is employed or on behalf of which the provider performs or induces chemical abortions, or both. This is a discretionary power conferred on the Secretary; the bill does not mandate withholding as an automatic consequence of noncompliance.

Private right of civil action. Section 3404 creates a federal civil cause of action. As drafted, the cause of action is available to "a woman or a parent of a woman upon whom an abortion has been performed or induced, or attempted to be performed or induced, by a chemical abortion provider in violation of this title." The bill uses the word "abortion" here rather than "chemical abortion"; whether that broader word was intentional or a drafting artifact is not clear from the text. The most natural reading in context is that the action lies for violations of this title -- which governs only chemical abortions -- but the text could also be read more broadly. A parent may bring suit with no age limitation stated in the bill and without any requirement of the woman's consent to the suit. Available relief includes: (1) objectively verifiable money damages for all injuries, psychological and physical, occasioned by the violation; (2) statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the abortion; and (3) punitive damages.

Attorney's fees. A court must award a reasonable attorney's fee as part of costs to a prevailing plaintiff. If a defendant prevails and the court finds the plaintiff's suit was frivolous, the court must award a reasonable attorney's fee to the defendant against the plaintiff. No damages, other monetary relief, or attorney's fees -- except the frivolous-suit fee just described -- may be assessed against the woman upon whom the abortion was performed, induced, or attempted.

Preemption. The bill expressly does not preempt any state law that establishes, implements, or continues in effect disclosure requirements regarding abortion, or penalties for failure to comply with such requirements, that are more extensive than those provided by this act. States may go further; this bill sets a floor, not a ceiling.

Severability. If any provision of the act or any application of it is found unconstitutional, the remainder of the act and its other applications are unaffected.

We believe every woman facing this decision has a God-given right to full, honest information about what she is about to take into her body. The FDA itself has determined that these drugs carry risks serious enough to require extensive label warnings. This bill does nothing more than ensure those warnings are actually delivered, read aloud, and acknowledged before a woman proceeds. That is not a burden; it is basic human dignity. We urge passage.