H.R. 895 — Ensuring Justice for Victims of Partial-Birth Abortion Act

This section directs the Attorney General to investigate whether there was a violation of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (18 U.S.C. §1531)—which prohibits physicians from knowingly performing partial-birth abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother—in connection with the remains of five babies discovered by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department on March 30, 2022. The Attorney General must submit a report to Congress detailing the investigation, including the circumstances surrounding each baby's death and any enforcement actions taken, not later than six months after enactment.

This section requires the Attorney General to investigate and take appropriate enforcement action for alleged violations of the partial-birth abortion ban (18 U.S.C. § 1531). (The ban prohibits physicians from knowingly performing a partial-birth abortion—defined as deliberately vaginally delivering a living fetus to a specified anatomical point for the purpose of performing an overt act, other than completing delivery, that kills it—with an exception when necessary to save the life of the mother endangered by a physical disorder, illness, injury, or pregnancy-related condition.)

This section requires a health care practitioner or any employee of a hospital, a physician’s office, or an abortion clinic who has knowledge of a violation of the partial-birth abortion ban (18 U.S.C. §1531)—which prohibits physicians from knowingly performing such procedures, defined as deliberate vaginal delivery of a living fetus to a specified point followed by an overt act to kill it except to save the mother's life—to immediately report the violation to an appropriate state or federal law enforcement agency, or both.

This section requires the Attorney General to submit to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, and publish on the Department of Justice website, an annual report by October 1 on enforcement of the partial-birth abortion ban (18 U.S.C. 1531). The report must include (1) a list of steps taken by the Department of Justice to inform abortion providers of their compliance responsibilities under that section and (2) the number of alleged violations during the previous 10-year period, descriptions of all Department investigative efforts, and the number of enforcement actions (including preliminary investigations, prosecutions, and charges filed).

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to review enforcement actions taken in connection with alleged violations of the federal partial-birth abortion ban (18 U.S.C. §1531)—which prohibits physicians from knowingly performing such procedures except when necessary to save the life of the mother—and, not later than 18 months after enactment, submit a report with recommendations, particularly on strengthening enforcement, to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The review covers fiscal years 2004 through 2024.

This section provides a severability clause, stating that if any provision of the Act or its amendments, or their application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and its amendments are not affected.