H-1296.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1031

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By House Committee on Law & Justice (originally sponsored by Representatives Sterk, Mulliken, Koster, Johnson, Thompson, D. Sommers, Boldt, Sheahan, Sherstad, Carrell, Bush, Smith, Chandler, D. Schmidt and Backlund)

Read first time 01/27/97. 

Limiting late-term and partial-birth abortions.

    AN ACT Relating to limiting late-term and partial-birth abortions; adding a new section to chapter 9.02 RCW; creating a new section; prescribing penalties; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  This act shall be known and cited as the partial-birth abortion ban act of 1997.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 9.02 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) No person may intentionally perform a partial-birth abortion and thereby terminate the life of a human fetus.

    (2) As used in this section, "partial-birth abortion" means an abortion in which the person performing the abortion partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before terminating the life of the fetus and completing the delivery.

    (3) The mother, father, and if the mother has not attained the age of eighteen years at the time of the abortion, the maternal grandparents of the fetus, may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief.

    (4) Such relief shall include:

    (a) Money damages for all injuries, psychological and physical, occasioned by the violation of this section; and

    (b) Statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the partial-birth abortion, even if any party consented to the performance of an abortion.

    (5) A woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed may not be prosecuted under this section for a conspiracy to violate this section, or an offense based on a violation of this section.

    (6) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution or a civil action under this section, which must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, that the partial-birth abortion was performed by a physician who reasonably believed:

    (a) The partial-birth abortion was necessary to save the life of the woman upon whom it was performed; and

    (b) No other abortion procedure would suffice for that purpose.

    A violation of this section is a class C felony.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, morals, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.

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