Miami, FL — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) reintroduced the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) and joined introduction of ten additional pieces of legislation to protect the sanctity of life.
“There is no human right more fundamental and more sacred than the right to life,” Rubio said. “Every single human being is entitled to the protection of our laws from the very moment of conception. I pray, and stand with those who march today in Washington and across our nation, that the dignity of human life will one day be respected. I remain committed to fighting to protect and uphold the right to life in Congress.”
Rubio sponsored legislation:
- Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA)
- CIANA would make it a federal crime for physicians to perform an abortion on a minor from another state without parental consent. The bill sets criminal punishments for providers that violate the law, and it provides an exception for when the minor’s life is at risk.
- Rubio first introduced the legislation in January 2019.
- Joining Senator Rubio to reintroduce this legislation are Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jim Risch (R-ID), James Inhofe (R-OK), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), James Lankford (R-OK), John Thune (R-SD), Mike Braun (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Kennedy (R-LA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Rand Paul (R-KY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tim Scott (R-SC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND).
Rubio co-sponsored legislation:
- No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act
- Senator Roger Wicker’s (R-MS) bill would prohibit any federal funds from being used for abortions or to support health insurance coverage that includes abortions.
- Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- Senator Ben Sasse’s (R-NE) bill would extend legal protection to an infant born alive after a failed attempt at an induced abortion. This legislation ensures all newborns are given the same level of necessary care they deserve.
- Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act
- Senator Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) bill would prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from providing federal family planning grants to any entities that perform abortions.
- Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
- Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) bill would amend the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more.
- SAVE Moms and Babies Act
- Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-MS) bill would prevent labeling changes from previously-approved abortion drugs, most notably attempts to remove the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) certification. REMS is a safety requirement that mandates certified providers only dispense drugs from healthcare settings and they inform the patient about the associated risks of taking abortion medication. The bill also prevents providers from prescribing these drugs remotely, by mail, or via telehealth services. It also prevents the FDA from authorizing new abortion medicines.
- Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act
- Senator James Inhofe’s (R-OK) bill would prohibit providers from knowingly performing abortions on an unborn baby because he or she has or may have Down syndrome. The bill also bans anyone from forcing a mother to get an abortion because the baby has or may have Down syndrome. Certain family members of the baby would be able to bring forward civil action against violators of the law. The bill shields a mother from being prosecuted or held liable for any one of these violations.
- Women’s Public Health and Safety Act
- Senator James Lankford’s (R-OK) bill would allow states to exclude providers of elective abortions from a state’s Medicaid program.
- Abortion is Not Health Care Act
- Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) bill would fix the Internal Revenue Service categorization that currently qualifies abortion services as medical care, and subsequently provides them preferential tax treatment.
- Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act
- Senator Lee also reintroduced this legislation that codifies an expanded Mexico City policy to ensure that no foreign aid funding goes to organizations that perform abortions, provide abortion counseling, or refer to abortion services.
- Protecting Life in Health Savings Accounts Act
- Senator Lee introduced this bill, which would prohibit preferential tax treatment and expenditures of abortion services through health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible savings accounts (FSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (HRAs), health reimbursement arrangements (MSAs), and retiree health accounts.
