H.R. 21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

H.R. 21 creates a new federal rule for cases where an abortion or attempted abortion results in a child born alive. The core requirement is straightforward: the practitioner present must provide the same level of care that would be given to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.

The bill also requires immediate transport and admission to a hospital after that initial care. And it does not leave enforcement to medical boards alone — practitioners and employees at hospitals, doctors' offices, and abortion clinics who know the rule was violated would have to immediately report it to state or federal law enforcement.

Violating the care requirement could bring a fine, up to 5 years in prison, or both. If someone intentionally kills a child born alive, the bill says that person would be punished under federal murder law.

H.R. 21 also creates a private right to sue. The woman who underwent the abortion or attempted abortion could seek money damages for physical and psychological injuries, punitive damages, and statutory damages worth 3 times the cost of the procedure.

The mother herself cannot be prosecuted under this bill. But doctors, staff, clinics, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and courts would all have new legal duties or new cases to handle if it became law.