SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2313
As Amended by Senate Committee on Public
Health and Welfare

Brief*
HB 2313, as amended, would enact the Born-alive
Infants Protection Act (Act).

Definitions (New Sections 2 and 3)
The bill would define terms as follows:
● “Abortion” would mean the use or prescription of
any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other
substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of
a woman known to be pregnant with an intention
other than to increase the probability of a live birth,
to preserve the life or health of the child after live
birth, or to remove a dead unborn child who died
as the result of natural causes in utero, accidental
trauma, or a criminal assault on the pregnant
woman or her unborn child, and which causes the
premature termination of the pregnancy;
● “Born alive” would mean the complete expulsion or
extraction of a human being from its mother, at any
stage of development, who, after such expulsion or
extraction, breathes or has a beating heart,
pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite
movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of
whether the umbilical cord has been cut and
regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 occurs as a result of natural or induced labor,
cesarean section, or induced abortion;
● “Healthcare provider” would mean a physician,
licensed physician assistant, licensed advanced
practice registered nurse, or person licensed,
registered, certified, or otherwise authorized to
practice by the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory
Board; and
● “Medical care facility” would mean a hospital,
ambulatory surgical center, or recuperation center,
except that “medical care facility” would not include
a hospice that is certified to participate in the
Medicare program and that provides services only
to hospice patients.
The bill would also specify that the definitions of terms
“child,” “human being,” or “person” would include each
member of the species Homo sapiens who is born alive.

Requirements for Health Care Providers (New Section 4)
The bill would require, in the event an abortion or
attempted abortion results in a child being born alive, any
health care provider present at the time the child is born alive
to:
● Exercise the same degree of professional skill,
care, and diligence, to preserve the life and health
of the child as a reasonably diligent and
conscientious health care provider would render to
any other child born alive at the same gestational
age; and
● Ensure that the child who is born alive is
immediately transported to a hospital.
The bill would require any health care provider or any
employee of a medical care facility who has knowledge of a
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failure to comply with the reporting requirements to
immediately report such failure to an appropriate law
enforcement agency.

Penalties (New Section 5)
The bill would provide for any person who knowingly or
recklessly violates the requirements for care and reporting to
be guilty of a severity level 10, nonperson felony.
Any person who intentionally performs or attempts to
perform an overt act that kills a child who is born alive during
an abortion or attempted abortion would be guilty of a severity
level 1, person felony.
The provisions of this section would not apply to the
woman upon whom the abortion is performed or attempted.

Civil Action (New Section 6)
The bill would provide that a civil action with appropriate
relief for any violation of the requirements for care and
reporting could only be filed by the woman upon whom the
abortion or attempted abortion was performed; the father of
the child born alive; and, if the woman is not at least 18 years
of age at the time the abortion or attempted abortion is
performed, the parents or custodial guardian of the woman.
The bill would bar from bringing an action any person
who is not the woman upon whom the abortion or attempted
abortion was performed if the pregnancy resulted from such
person’s criminal conduct.
The bill would provide for the prevailing party to be
awarded reasonable attorney fees, except when the
prevailing party is the defendant. If the defendant prevails, the
court would find that the plaintiff’s action was frivolous and

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brought in bad faith before the court and could award attorney
fees to such defendant.

Anonymity and Requirements to Prevent Public
Disclosure (New Section 7)
In any civil or criminal action brought pursuant to New
Section 5 or 6, upon a motion by either party or on the court’s
own accord, the bill would direct the court to determine
whether the anonymity of such woman would be preserved.
If the court determines the woman’s anonymity should
be preserved, the bill would direct the court to issue
appropriate orders to the parties, witnesses, and counsel and
would direct that court records of the proceedings be sealed
and all individuals who are not a party to the action,
witnesses, or counsel be excluded from the courtroom or
hearing room to the extent necessary to safeguard the
woman’s identity from public disclosure. The bill would
require each order to be accompanied by specific written
findings explaining:
● Why the anonymity of the woman should be
preserved from public disclosure;
● Why the order is essential to that end;
● How the order is narrowly tailored to serve that
interest; and
● Why no reasonable less restrictive alternative
exists.
The bill would specify that this section should not be
construed to conceal the identity of the plaintiff or of
witnesses from the defendant.


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Annual Report (New Section 8)
The bill would require medical care facilities in which an
infant is born alive subsequent to an abortion or attempted
abortion performed on the mother of the infant to submit an
annual report to the Secretary of Health and Environment
(Secretary).
The bill would require the report to include these specific
items:
● The number of infants born alive subsequent to an
abortion or attempted abortion;
● The approximate gestational age of the infant who
was born alive expressed in one of the following
increments:
○ Less than 9 weeks;
○ 9 to 10 weeks;
○ 11 to 12 weeks;
○ 13 to 15 weeks;
○ 16 to 20 weeks;
○ 21 to 24 weeks;
○ 25 to 30 weeks;
○ 31 to 36 weeks; or
○ 37 weeks to term;
● Any medical actions taken to preserve the life of
the infant who was born alive;
● The outcome for such infants, including survival,
death, and location of death, such as a clinic,
hospital, or ambulance, if known; and
● The medical conditions of infants who were born
alive, including conditions developed prior to and
after the attempted abortion.
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 The bill would authorize the Secretary to impose a civil
fine in any amount not to exceed $500 on any medical care
facility that fails to submit the required report within 30 days
after the date such report is due to be submitted to the
Secretary.
The bill would authorize the Secretary to impose an
additional civil fine in an amount not to exceed $500 for each
additional 30-day period that such medical care facility fails to
submit the required report. If a medical care facility fails to
submit a required report for more than one year following the
due date, or submits an incomplete report during such time
period and fails to correct the deficiencies in such report, the
Secretary would be authorized to bring a civil action for an
injunction to compel such medical care facility to submit the
required report.

Severability (New Section 9)
The bill would declare the provisions, words, phrases,
and clauses of New Sections 1 through 8 to be severable,
and provide that if any provision, word, phrase, or clause of
the bill or the application of the bill to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the unaffected provisions, words,
phrases, clauses, or applications would still be effective.

Reporting and Sunset on Disclosure Exclusion (Section
10)
The bill would amend a statute regarding reporting of the
number of pregnancies lawfully terminated to the Secretary to
add information required to be reported under New Section 8
of the Act and specify the report would not include the names
of persons upon whom an attempted abortion was performed.
The bill would also add a sunset date of July 1, 2028, for
the subsection providing for the confidentiality of information
obtained by the Secretary and prohibiting disclosure in a

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manner that would reveal the identity of physicians or county
or other area of the state reporting to the Secretary. The
Legislature would be able to review and reenact such
provisions before July 1, 2028.

Background
The bill was introduced by Representative Sanders and
52 others.

House Committee on Human Services
In the House Committee hearing on March 8, 2023,
proponent testimony was provided by Representative Bryce,
a representative of Kansans for Life, a physician, and a
private citizen, who generally stated the need to establish a
legal responsibility similar to that for other medical situations
so that when complications or unexpected medical events
occur, the patient (infant) receives the appropriate medical
care for their medical needs which includes palliative/end of
life care as well as more intensive medical interventions.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
representatives of Abortion Survivors Network, Kansas
Catholic Conference, and Kansas Family Voice and a private
citizen.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by the
American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas.
No other testimony was provided.


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Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare
At the Senate Committee hearing on March 24, 2023,
proponent testimony was provided by a representative of
Kansans for Life and a private citizen. The proponents
provided substantially similar testimony as in the House
Committee hearing.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
Representative Bryce, a pediatrician, and representatives of
Abortion Survivors Network, Kansas Catholic Conference,
and Kansas Family Voice.
No other testimony was provided.
The Senate Committee amended the bill to remove the
requirement that the health care providers present at the time
the child is born alive ensure the child is immediately
admitted to a hospital after ensuring immediate transportation
of the child to a hospital.

Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the State Board of
Healing Arts indicates enactment of the bill could result in an
increase in complaints, investigations, and potential litigation
but the additional workload would be managed within existing
resources.
The Office of the Attorney General reports that the bill is
likely to be challenged on constitutional grounds in state
court. The litigation could be ongoing and would be likely to
reach the appellate level. The Office is unable to determine
the amount of additional workload resulting from enactment of
the bill but anticipates handling within existing resources.
The Office of Judicial Administration states enactment of
the bill could increase the number of cases filed in district
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court because it allows for civil actions and creates new
crimes, which could result in more time spent by judicial and
nonjudicial personnel processing, researching, and hearing
cases. The Office estimates enactment of the bill could result
in the collection of docket fees and fines assessed in those
cases filed under the bill’s provisions. According to the Office,
a fiscal effect cannot be estimated.
The Department of Health and Environment and the
Department for Children and Families report that enactment
of the bill would not have a fiscal effect on agency operations.
Any fiscal effect associated with enactment of the bill is
not reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Born-alive Infants Protection Act; infants; abortion; health; standard of care; criminal
penalties; civil liability


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Statutes affected:
As introduced: 65-445
As Amended by Senate Committee: 65-445
Enrolled - Law effective July 1, 2023: 65-445
Enrolled: 65-445