Official Summaries

Dignity for Aborted Children Act

This bill establishes requirements for abortion providers with respect to the disposal of human fetal tissue from an abortion.

Specifically, it requires abortion providers to obtain a patient's informed consent for one of two specified methods of disposition and to retain the corresponding documentation in the patient's file.

First, patients may choose to retain possession of the tissue. A patient may choose to transfer the tissue to an entity that provides interment or cremation services.

Second, patients may choose to release the tissue to the provider. Providers must ensure any tissue released to them is interred or cremated within seven days of the procedure in a manner consistent with state law regarding the disposal of human remains.

Abortion providers must submit reports annually to the Department of Health and Human Services about these requirements and other specified information.

The bill establishes civil penalties for violations of the requirement to retain documentation of informed consent, and it establishes criminal penalties for violations of the requirement regarding the disposal of human fetal tissue.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 242 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 242

    To protect the dignity of fetal remains, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 24, 2025

  Mr. Ricketts (for himself, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Sheehy, Mr. Banks, Mr. 
 Daines, Mr. Risch, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Justice, 
 Mr. Tillis, and Mr. Hawley) introduced the following bill; which was 
 read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
                              and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To protect the dignity of fetal remains, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Dignity for Aborted Children Act''.

SEC. 2. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.

    Congress enacts the following pursuant to Congress' power under--
            (1) the Interstate Commerce Clause of section 8 of article 
        I of the Constitution;
            (2) section 5 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of 
        the United States, including the power to enforce the 
        prohibition on government action denying equal protection of 
        the laws; and
            (3) section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the 
        United States to make all laws necessary and proper for the 
        carrying into execution of powers vested by the Constitution in 
        the Government of the United States.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF FETAL REMAINS.

    (a) In General.--Part H of title IV of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 289 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 498F. PROTECTION OF FETAL REMAINS.

    ``(a) Consent Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any abortion provider, after performing 
        an abortion, shall provide the patient with an informed consent 
        form, offering the patient the following options for disposal 
        of the human fetal tissue from the abortion:
                    ``(A) The patient may take possession of the human 
                fetal tissue and may choose to transfer the tissue to 
                an entity providing interment or cremation services.
                    ``(B) The patient may elect to release the human 
                fetal tissue to the abortion provider, who shall be 
                subject to the requirements of subsection (b).
            ``(2) Consent requirements.--An abortion provider described 
        in paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) obtain a patient signature on each consent 
                form required under paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) retain each such form in the patient's file.
    ``(b) Provider Disposal Requirement.--It shall be unlawful for any 
abortion provider who, after performing an abortion in which the woman 
on whom the abortion was performed elects, pursuant to subsection 
(a)(1)(B), to release the human fetal tissue to the abortion provider, 
to fail to provide for the final disposition of the human fetal tissue 
through interment or cremation, consistent with State law regarding the 
disposal of human remains, not later than 7 days after the date on 
which the abortion procedure was performed. Such final disposition of 
human fetal tissue may be carried out through interment or cremation of 
tissue from more than one abortion procedure collectively.
    ``(c) Penalties.--
            ``(1) Informed consent violations.--An abortion provider 
        who fails to maintain the documentation required under 
        subsection (a)(2)(B) shall be subject to civil monetary 
        penalties in an amount not to exceed $50,000.
            ``(2) Disposal violations.--Any abortion provider who 
        violates subsection (b) shall be fined in accordance with title 
        18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or 
        both.
            ``(3) Bar to prosecution.--A patient upon whom an abortion 
        in violation of subsection (b) is performed or attempted may 
        not be prosecuted under, or for a conspiracy to violate, 
        paragraph (1), or for an offense under section 2, 3, or 4 of 
        title 18, United States Code, based on such a violation.
    ``(d) Reporting.--Each abortion provider described in subsection 
(a)(1) shall submit annual reports to the Secretary indicating, with 
respect to the reporting period--
            ``(1) the aggregate number of abortion procedures performed 
        by such abortion provider;
            ``(2) the gestational age at the time of each such 
        procedure; and
            ``(3) for abortions carried out using an abortion method 
        other than chemical abortion, the aggregate number of fetal 
        remains transferred for interment or cremation and the number 
        released to patients.
    ``(e) Annual Reports by the Secretary.--The Secretary shall submit 
to Congress an annual report on the number of abortions by State, 
procedure type, and method of disposal of human fetal tissue.
    ``(f) Non-Preemption.--Nothing in this section shall preempt any 
State requirement that, at a minimum, requires interment or cremation 
in the same manner that other human remains are required to be treated 
in such State.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `abortion' means the use or prescription of 
        any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or 
        device--
                    ``(A) to intentionally kill the unborn child of a 
                woman known to be pregnant; or
                    ``(B) to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a 
                woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other 
                than--
                            ``(i) after viability to produce a live 
                        birth and preserve the life and health of the 
                        child born alive; or
                            ``(ii) to remove a dead unborn child;
            ``(2) the term `abortion provider' means an individual or 
        entity that performs abortions; and
            ``(3) the term `human fetal tissue' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 498A(g).''.
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