H.R. 4924 The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act

Alveda King, director of Civil Rights for the Unborn, the African-American outreach for Priests for Life, submitted testimony to be included in the transcript of the April 14 hearing of the U.S. House hearing on sex- and race-selection abortions in America and the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA).

H.R. 4924, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA), would prohibit sex selection abortions; penalize the use of force or the threat of force to coerce a woman to have an abortion based on the sex of the child she is carrying; solicit or accept funds for a sex selection abortion; and bar the transportation of a woman into the United States or across state lines for the purpose of obtaining a sex selection abortion.
In 2012, a House version of the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act was brought to the House floor under “suspension of the rules,” a parliamentary tactic that requires a bill to receive a two-thirds vote to pass. The House bill, also introduced then by Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-8), received a majority vote (246-168), but not enough to meet the two-thirds requirement.

Text

The complete text of H.R. 4924 may be found at https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4924/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22%5C%22hr4924%5C%22%22%5D%7D&resultIndex=1

Co-Sponsors

H.R. 4924 was introduced by Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-8). A list of the bill’s co-sponsors may be found at https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4924/cosponsors?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22%5C%22hr4924%5C%22%22%5D%7D&resultIndex=1

Status

4-13-16 H.R. 4924 introduced in the House of Representatives.

4-13-16 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

4-14-16 Hearing on H.R. 4924 held by the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

Statements

4-14-16 A video of Congressman Trent Franks’s opening statement at the hearing held on H.R. 4924 by the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfOOEGb2oZ4&feature=youtu.be

4-14-16 A transcript of the subcommittee hearing testimony presented by Catherine Davis of the National Black Prolife Coalition and the Restoration Project is available at https://judiciary.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Davis-Testimony-04.14.2016.pdf

4-14-16 A transcript of the subcommittee hearing testimony presented by Anna Higgins of the Charlotte Lozier Institute is available at https://judiciary.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Higgins-Testimony-04.14.2016.pdf

4-14-16 A transcript of the subcommittee hearing testimony presented by the Rev. Derek McCoy of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education is available at https://judiciary.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/McCoy-Testimony-04.14.2016.pdf