About the bill
Should abortion be banned if prenatal tests indicate that the child born would have Down syndrome, and despite similar state laws repeatedly being ruled unconstitutional?
Context
While Roe v. Wade still stands as the law of the land, some states have recently banned abortion based on the fetus having Down syndrome.
Many of these laws have been blocked as unconstitutional in court, including most recently an Ohio law in October. But states have nonetheless passed such laws regardless, including Indiana, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Kentucky.
Down syndrome can be detected starting about 10 to 13 weeks into pregnancy.
What the legislation does
The Down Syndrome Discrimination by Abortion Prohibition Act would nationally ban abortions performed because the fetus has been diagnosed with Down syndrome.
The House version …
Sponsor and status
116th Congress (2019–2021)
This bill was introduced on October 29, 2019, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.
Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills).
56 Cosponsors (56 Republicans)
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“Rep. Estes Introduces Down Syndrome Discrimination by Abortion Prohibition Act”
—
Rep. Ron Estes [R-KS4]
(Sponsor)
on Oct 30, 2019
“Rep. Williams Fights to Protect the Unborn During COVID-19”
—
Rep. Roger Williams [R-TX25]
(Co-sponsor)
on May 13, 2020
“Stauber Leads Legislation to Prohibit Abortions Based on Down Syndrome Diagnosis”
—
Rep. Pete Stauber [R-MN8]
(Co-sponsor)
on Oct 30, 2019
History
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Oct 29, 2019
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Introduced
Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber. |
H.R. 4903 (116th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number H.R. 4903. This is the one from the 116th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 116th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2019 to Jan 3, 2021. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
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