Summary: H.R. 6466 – Forced Abortion Prevention and Accountability Act
Overview
- Bill number: H.R. 6466
- Introduced by: Rep. Messmer (et al.) on December 4, 2025
- Congress: 119th Congress, 1st Session
- Status: Introduced in the House; referred to the House Judiciary Committee
- Short title: Forced Abortion Prevention and Accountability Act
Purpose and intent
The bill seeks to establish federal penalties for the knowing and intentional administration of an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant woman without her informed consent, when such drug has been shipped or transported in interstate commerce. It creates criminal penalties, civil remedies, and related definitional provisions to deter, punish, and provide recourse for cases of forced abortion.
Key provisions and changes
New criminal offense
- New statute added: 18 U.S.C. § 1532 (Forced abortions prohibited)
- Elements: In or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly and intentionally administers to a pregnant woman an abortion-inducing drug without her informed consent.
- Penalties: Fine, imprisonment for up to 25 years, or both.
- Attempts and conspiracies: Same penalties as the underlying offense.
- Dual penalty: If non-consensual administration results in serious bodily injury or death, the offender faces up to 25 additional years (in addition to the base penalty), or both.
Civil remedy
- Who can sue: The woman who was administered the abortion-inducing drug, or potentially others involved, may sue the person who administered, attempted to administer, or conspired to commit the offense.
- Relief and damages:
- Objectively verifiable monetary damages for physical and psychological injuries.
- Statutory damages equal to 3 times the cost of injuries.
- Punitive damages.
- Attorneys’ fees for plaintiffs; courts may award attorneys’ fees to prevailing defendants if a suit is found frivolous.
Definitions (scope of terms)
- Abortion: Use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or device to intentionally kill the unborn child or terminate the pregnancy with improper intent.
- Abortion-inducing drug: Any drug or substance prescribed, dispensed, or administered to cause an abortion (explicitly includes mifepristone and misoprostol).
- Informed consent: Voluntary, knowing agreement to ingest an abortion-inducing drug after being fully informed of its nature, purpose, risks, and consequences.
- Serious bodily injury: As defined elsewhere in law (reference to 18 U.S.C. § 1365).
- Unborn child: Defined per existing statutory terminology.
Administrative and structural changes
- Clerical amendment: Adds § 1532 to Chapter 74 of Title 18.
- Chapter heading and table amendments: Replaces the chapter heading from “Partial-birth Abortions” to “Abortions” and updates the related table of chapters accordingly.
Who would be affected
- Individuals who administer, attempt to administer, or conspire to administer abortion-inducing drugs without informed consent, particularly in situations involving interstate or foreign commerce.
- Victims (pregnant women) who are subjected to non-consensual administration of abortion-inducing drugs.
- Potential civil defendants who may be liable for damages and attorneys’ fees in civil actions arising from violations.
Timeline and process
- Introductory date: December 4, 2025
- Current status: Referred to the House Judiciary Committee (no floor action or Senate action indicated yet in the provided text)
Notes
- The bill emphasizes interstate commerce as a trigger for federal jurisdiction.
- It creates a parallel criminal and civil framework to address forced abortions and provide remedies to victims.
