Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995
Latest action. Read the second time. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 127.
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995 - Subjects anyone who knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce to a fine or imprisonment for not more than two years or both. Defines "partial-birth abortion" as partial, vaginal delivery of the fetus prior to killing the fetus and completing the delivery. Permits the parents or the maternal grandparents (if the mother has not attained the age of 18 at the time of the abortion) through a civil action to obtain relief which would include money damages for all injuries and statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the partial-birth abortion, even if any party consented to an abortion. Permits the affirmative defense to a prosecution or a civil action, which must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, that the physician reasonably believed: (1) the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life; and (2) no other form of abortion would have sufficed for that purpose.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 16, 1995. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 19, 1995: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 127.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 104th Congress (1995-96), 333 of the 6,806 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ROBERT SMITH (R-NH) introduced it on June 16, 1995, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 13 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 16, 1995, 11410 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 11407 days ago, on June 19, 1995.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 104th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1997 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers