HB 1740 — An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in abortion, further providing for legislative intent, providing for fetal heartbeat examination and further providing for medical consultation and judgment and for abortion on unborn child of 24 or more weeks gestational age; and making an editorial change.

PRINTER'S NO.   2142

                       THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                             HOUSE BILL
                             No. 1740
                                                    Session of
                                                      2025

     INTRODUCED BY BOROWICZ, KRUPA, KUZMA, M. BROWN, HAMM, KAUFFMAN,
        LEADBETER, PICKETT, GROVE, BONNER, ZIMMERMAN, JAMES,
        ANDERSON, GILLEN, T. JONES AND FINK, JULY 15, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JULY 16, 2025


                                         AN ACT
 1   Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
 2      Consolidated Statutes, in abortion, further providing for
 3      legislative intent, providing for fetal heartbeat examination
 4      and further providing for medical consultation and judgment
 5      and for abortion on unborn child of 24 or more weeks
 6      gestational age; and making an editorial change.
 7      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 8   hereby enacts as follows:
 9      Section 1.         Section 3202(b) of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
10   Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a paragraph to read:
11   § 3202.    Legislative intent.
12      * * *
13      (b)    Conclusions.--Reliable and convincing evidence has
14   compelled the General Assembly to conclude and the General
15   Assembly does hereby solemnly declare and find that:
16             * * *
17             (6)   The following:
18                   (i)    Fetal heartbeat has become a key medical
19             predictor that an unborn individual will reach live
 1             birth.
 2                   (ii)    Cardiac activity begins at a biologically
 3             identifiable moment in time, normally when the fetal
 4             heart is formed in the gestational sac.
 5                   (iii)    In order to make an informed choice about
 6             whether to continue the pregnancy, a pregnant woman has a
 7             legitimate interest in knowing the likelihood of the
 8             fetus surviving to full-term birth based upon the
 9             presence of cardiac activity.
10      * * *
11      Section 2.       Title 18 is amended by adding a section to read:
12   § 3203.1.       Fetal heartbeat examination.
13      Before performing an abortion, a physician shall conduct a
14   physical examination of the pregnant woman and her unborn child
15   to determine if there is a fetal heartbeat present. The
16   physician shall utilize the physician's best clinical judgment
17   to determine whether or not a fetal heartbeat is present.
18      Section 3.       Sections 3204(a), 3211 heading, (a) and (b)(2)
19   and 3214(a)(1) of Title 18 are amended to read:
20   § 3204.    Medical consultation and judgment.
21      (a)    Abortion prohibited; exceptions.--No abortion shall be
22   performed after a fetal heartbeat is detected. If there is no
23   fetal heartbeat, no abortion shall be performed except by a
24   physician after either:
25             (1)    he determines that, in his best clinical judgment,
26      the abortion is necessary; or
27             (2)    he receives what he reasonably believes to be a
28      written statement signed by another physician, hereinafter
29      called the "referring physician," certifying that in this
30      referring physician's best clinical judgment the abortion is

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 1      necessary.
 2      * * *
 3   § 3211.    Abortion on unborn child [of 24 or more weeks
 4                   gestational age] after fetal heartbeat is detected.
 5      (a)    Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no
 6   person shall perform or induce an abortion upon another person
 7   when the [gestational age of the unborn child is 24 or more
 8   weeks] unborn child has a detectable fetal heartbeat.
 9      (b)    Exceptions.--
10             * * *
11             (2)   It shall not be a violation of subsection (a) if the
12      abortion is performed by a physician and that physician
13      reasonably believes, after [making a determination of the
14      gestational age of the unborn child] examining the pregnant
15      woman in compliance with section 3210 (relating to
16      determination of gestational age), that the unborn child [is
17      less than 24 weeks gestational age] does not have a fetal
18      heartbeat.
19      * * *
20   § 3214.    Reporting.
21      (a)    General rule.--For the purpose of promotion of maternal
22   health and life by adding to the sum of medical and public
23   health knowledge through the compilation of relevant data, and
24   to promote the Commonwealth's interest in protection of the
25   unborn child, a report of each abortion performed shall be made
26   to the department on forms prescribed by it. The report forms
27   shall not identify the individual patient by name and shall
28   include the following information:
29             (1)   Identification of the physician who performed the
30      abortion, the concurring physician as required by section

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1     3211(c)(2) (relating to abortion on unborn child [of 24 or
2     more weeks gestational age] after fetal heartbeat is
3     detected), the second physician as required by section
4     3211(c)(5) and the facility where the abortion was performed
5     and of the referring physician, agency or service, if any.
6         * * *
7     Section 4.    This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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