U.S. House of Representatives
Bill HR 3 (2011)
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
Introduction
This bill was introduced on 20 January, 2011 and passed by the House on
4 May, 2011. This extract from the
full text of the bill is the protection of conscience provision.
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To prohibit taxpayer funded abortions and to provide for conscience
protections and and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short Title
This Act may be cited as the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act."
Section 2. Prohibiting Taxpayer Funded Abortion and Providing for
Conscience Protections
Title 1 of the United States Code is amended by adding at the end the
following new chapter:
Chapter 4- Prohibiting Taxpayer Funded Abortions and Providing for
Conscience Protections
(Sections 301 to 310 concern abortion funding. See
full text of
the bill.)
Section 311. No government discrimination against certain health care
entities
(a) Nondiscrimination.
A Federal agency or program, and any State or local government that
receives Federal financial assistance (either directly or indirectly), may
not subject any individual or institutional health care entity to
discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide,
pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.
(b) Health care entity defined.
For purposes of this section, the term 'health care entity' includes an
individual physician or other health care professional, a hospital, a
provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health
insurance plan, or any other kind of health facility, organization or plan.
(c) Remedies
(1) IN GENERAL.-The courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction
to prevent and redress actual or threatened violations of this section by
issuing any form of legal or equitable relief, including-
(A) injunctions prohibiting conduct that violates
this section; and
(B) orders preventing the disbursement of all or a
portion of Federal financial assistance to a State or local government, or
to a specific offending agency or program of a State or local government,
until such time as the conduct prohibited by this section has ceased.
(2) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.-An action under this subsection may be
instituted by-
(A) any health care entity that has standing to
complain of an actual or threatened violation of this section; or
(B) the Attorney General of the United States.
(d) Administration
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall designate the Director
of the Office
for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services-
(1) to receive complaints alleging a violation of
this section;
(2) subject to paragraph (3), to pursue the
investigation of such complaints in coordination with the Attorney General;
and
(3) in the case of a complaint related to a Federal
agency (other than with respect to the Department of Health and Human
Services) or program administered through such other agency or any State or
local government receiving Federal financial assist
ance through such other agency, to refer the complaint to the appropriate
office of such other agency.