HR78
Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act of 2025
In one sentence
This bill sets new rules for doctors who perform abortions, requiring them to have nearby hospital privileges and inform patients about emergency care options.
What it does
- Requires a doctor performing an abortion to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 15 miles of the procedure location.
- Mandates that doctors tell patients about nearby hospitals where they can get follow-up care if complications happen after an abortion.
- Makes it illegal for doctors who do not follow these rules, with penalties including fines or up to two years in prison.
- Requires abortion clinics to be licensed by their state and meet federal standards for ambulatory surgical centers to receive federal funds.
- Allows a State board of health to waive some building requirements for clinics if the Secretary of Health and Human Services agrees.
Who it affects
- Doctors who perform abortions
- Abortion clinics that want federal funding or assistance
Limits and unknowns
- The bill does not take effect until it is passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law.
- It only applies to doctors acting in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce.
- Women who receive abortions cannot be prosecuted under this specific section.
Plain language
Terms to know
- Admitting privileges
- The right for a doctor to admit patients to a specific hospital.
- Ambulatory surgical center
- A facility where surgeries are done and the patient goes home on the same day, not staying overnight in a hospital bed.
Official record
Sources
Read the official summary
Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act of 2025 This bill establishes requirements for physicians who perform abortions and abortion clinics. Specifically, the bill requires a physician who performs an abortion (1) to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital; and (2) at the time of the abortion, to notify the patient of the hospital location where the patient can receive follow-up care if complications arise. A physician who fails to comply is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to two years, or both. A woman who undergoes an abortion may not be prosecuted. The bill also requires an abortion clinic, in order to receive federal funds or assistance, to (1) be licensed by the state in which it is located, and (2) be in compliance with federal standards for ambulatory surgical centers.
Official activity
Bill history
- Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.House floor actions
- Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.House floor actions
- Introduced in HouseLibrary of Congress
- Introduced in HouseLibrary of Congress