Federal law criminalizes one abortion method; physicians face prison and civil suits.

What it does

This bill makes it a federal crime for physicians to perform a specific abortion method called 'dismemberment abortion'—using instruments like forceps or scissors to remove fetal parts piece by piece—punishable by up to 2 years in prison and fines. It allows women and parents of minors to sue physicians for damages (including 3× the abortion cost plus punitive damages), but exempts the woman herself from prosecution. The bill permits dismemberment abortions only to save a mother's life and explicitly does not restrict other abortion methods, including those for rape or incest.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a federal criminal prohibition on one specific abortion method (dismemberment abortion) with civil liability provisions. It is not a blanket abortion ban—it explicitly preserves other methods and carves out life-of-mother exceptions—but it does restrict access to a particular procedure.

What the text implies

• The 3× statutory damages provision (triple the cost of the abortion) combined with punitive damages may create financial liability so severe that physicians avoid the procedure even in legally permitted circumstances (life-endangering conditions), creating a de facto chilling effect on lawful care.
• The definition of 'dismemberment abortion' is highly specific to one technique, but the bill's amendment of Chapter 74 (previously titled 'Partial-birth abortions') to simply 'Abortions' may signal intent to expand restrictions in future amendments.
• Civil suits by parents of minors (unless pregnancy resulted from parent's criminal conduct) create a third-party enforcement mechanism that may expose minors to family litigation over abortion decisions.
• The bill's immunity for women from prosecution under conspiracy and aiding-and-abetting statutes (sections 2, 3, 4) is narrowly tailored to this section only and does not extend to other federal abortion restrictions that may be enacted.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill restricts access to a specific abortion procedure, reducing reproductive autonomy for pregnant people who might choose that method—a cost to citizens seeking abortion care. However, it explicitly protects women from prosecution and preserves access to other abortion methods including those for rape/incest, and includes a life-of-mother exception. The civil liability structure (3× damages + punitive) may deter physicians from performing the procedure even in permitted cases, creating a c

Named in the bill

U.S. Senate, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Title 18 United States Code, Chapter 74 (Abortions), physicians, women, minors

Where it stands

10 cosponsors: 10 Republicans.

• Jun 24, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jun 24, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $420,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 51 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Mike Rounds, the sponsor, reported $1,722,790 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Susan B Anthony List — $420,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.