S. 3: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003

Before you vote › Federal bills

S. 3: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003

108th Congress · introduced 2003-02-14 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Became Public Law No: 108-105.

federal

Save to my notebook What does this mean? Print

Official title

Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since the Conference Report was filed in the House on September 30, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any physician or other individual from knowingly performing a partial-birth abortion, except when necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury. Defines a "partial-birth abortion" as an abortion in which the person performing the abortion: (1) deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the mother's body, or, in the case of a breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the mother's body; and (2) performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus. Authorizes the father, if married to the mother at the time of the abortion, and the maternal grandparents of the fetus, if the mother is under 18 years of age, to obtain specified relief in a civil action, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion. Authorizes a defendant accused of an offense under this Act to seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician's conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother. Prohibits the prosecution of a woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed for conspiracy to violate this Act or under provisions regarding punishment as a principal or an accessory or for concealment of a felony.

Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

The strongest published arguments

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Santorum, Rick [R-PA] · 45 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Recorded votes

• Senate vote 45 (2003): On the Motion, S3 (2003-03-11): Motion Rejected
• Senate vote 46 (2003): On the Motion to Table, S3 (2003-03-12): Motion to Table Agreed to
• Senate vote 47 (2003): On the Motion, S3 (2003-03-12): Motion Rejected
• Senate vote 48 (2003): On the Amendment, S3 (2003-03-12): Amendment Agreed to
• Senate vote 49 (2003): On the Amendment, S3 (2003-03-12): Amendment Rejected
• Senate vote 51 (2003): On Passage of the Bill, S3 (2003-03-13): Bill Passed
• Senate vote 351 (2003): On the Motion, S3 (2003-09-17): Motion Agreed to
• House roll call 530 (2003): On Agreeing to the Conference Report, S3 (2003-10-02): Passed
• Senate vote 402 (2003): On the Conference Report, S3 (2003-10-21): Conference Report Agreed to

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108s3.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/s>

Record fed-us-cong108-s3 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108