H.R. 147: Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2017

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H.R. 147: Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-01-03 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

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Official title

Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2017

Plain summary

Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2017 This bill imposes criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly or knowingly attempts to: (1) perform an abortion knowing that the abortion is sought based on the sex, gender, color or race of the child, or the race of a parent; (2) use force or the threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion; (3) solicit or accept funds for the performance of such an abortion; or (4) transport a woman into the United States or across a state line for the purpose of obtaining such an abortion. Violations or attempted violations shall result in fines and/or imprisonment for up to five years. The bill authorizes civil actions (for verifiable money damages for injuries and punitive damages) by: (1) fathers, or maternal grandparents if the mother is an unemancipated minor, of unborn children who are the subject of an abortion performed or attempted through any of the above violations; or (2) women upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted with a knowing or attempted use of force or threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion. To prevent an abortion provider from performing or attempting further abortions in violation of this bill, the bill authorizes injunctive relief to be obtained by: (1) the women upon whom such an abortion is performed or attempted, (2) a maternal grandparent of the unborn child if the woman is an unemancipated minor, (3) the father of such an unborn child, or (4) the Department of Justice. Violations of this bill are deemed to be prohibited discrimination under title VI (Federally Assisted Programs) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Violators of title VI lose federal funding.) Medical or mental health professionals must report known or suspected violations to law enforcement authorities. Criminal penalties are established for a failure to so report. A woman having such an abortion may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable. Courts must make such orders as necessary to protect the anonymity of any woman upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted if she does not give her written consent to such disclosure. In the absence of such a woman's written consent, any party, other than a public official, who brings an action must use a pseudonym. For purposes of this bill, "abortion" is defined as the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child, unless the act is intended to: (1) save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, (2) remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion, or (3) remove an ectopic pregnancy.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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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.

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Franks, Trent [R-AZ-8] · 65 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Gary J. Palmer (R-AL), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Sam Graves (R-MO), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Robert E. Latta (R-OH), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), David Rouzer (R-NC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Jim Banks (R-IN), John R. Moolenaar (R-MI), Jason Smith (R-MO), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Brian Babin (R-TX), Jim Jordan (R-OH) and 5 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hr147.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr147 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115