Ahead of 52nd Annual March for Life, Daines Introduces Pro-Life Bills

• January 23, 2025

U.S. SENATE - Ahead of 52^nd March for Life, U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced two pro-life bills. The "Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act" would ban doctors from performing abortions because a child received a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis. The "Protecting Life on College Campus Act" would restrict federal funding to colleges that provide students or faculty with access to chemical abortion pills or surgical abortions.

"This year, as we celebrate the 52^nd anniversary of the annual March for Life, I'm proud to introduce legislation that will protect the most vulnerable in our society: our unborn children. The radical left has been trying to push an extreme abortion agenda that the American people have resoundingly rejected, and I'm optimistic that our society will once again return to a culture of life that puts family first," said Daines.

Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act:

Between 60-90 percent of children diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted in the U.S. The "Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act" would make it illegal for a doctor to knowingly perform an abortion being sought because the baby has or may have Down syndrome, and prohibits anyone from forcing a mother to have an abortion because the baby has Down syndrome. Daines first introduced the bill in the 118^th Congress- read the press release here.

Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), John Boozman (Ark.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined Daines in introducing the legislation.

Protecting Life on College Campus Act:

In 2019, California passed legislation requiring campus health clinics at public colleges and universities to provide chemical abortion pills on demand to students starting in 2023. Other states are beginning to follow. The use of chemical abortions has skyrocketed in the past 20 years, increasing from just 5 percent in 2001 to 63% of all abortions in 2023. Chemical abortions are over 50 percent more likely than surgical abortions to result in an ER visit within 30 days, and as many as one in five women will suffer a complication. The "Protecting Life on College Campuses Act" would prohibit federal funds from going to any college or university with a campus health clinic that provides abortions and chemical abortions to students and faculty, and would help protect vulnerable young women from dangerous situations.

Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), John Boozman (Ark.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined Daines in introducing the legislation.

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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Rachel Dumke