Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that defines criminal abortion, prohibits doctors from performing criminal abortions, and authorizes women who have received criminal abortions to pursue civil action against the doctors that have performed them.

Highlights:

• Defines "criminal abortion" as any abortion in which any of the following criteria are met (Sec. 1):
• If the person performing the abortion knows that the patient was coerced into seeking the abortion;
• If the person performing the abortion does so in order to prevent the birth of an unborn child because of his or her race, color or gender, or because of the race or color of either parent;
• If the person performing the abortion knows that the patient has sought an abortion because of the race, color or gender of the unborn child, or the race or color of either parent; or
• If existing laws regarding abortion have been violated, including, but not limited to:
• An abortion performed after the second trimester when not medically necessary;
• The patient's parents have not been notified, if the patient is under 18; and
• If the doctor does not wait a full 24 hours after obtaining informed consent, if the abortion is not a medical emergency.

• Defines "unborn child" as a member of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of development in the womb (Sec. 1).

• Retains the existing penalty for performing criminal abortions, which is imprisonment for at least 1 but not more than 10 years, and classifies the act as a misdemeanor (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes any woman who has received a criminal abortion to pursue civil action against the person that performed the abortion (Sec. 1)

• Exempts doctors from criminal prosecution if they determine, through direct inquiry, that the abortion is not criminal, and if the patient has signed a statement to that effect (Sec. 1).

• Exempts all women who receive criminal abortions from criminal responsibility or civil liabaility (Sec. 1).

• Exempts doctors from criminal prosecution if the abortion performed is medically necessary (Sec. 2).

• This is a substitute bill sponsored by the Senate Special Judiciary Committee.

Full Bill Text