HOPE Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Health.
Health, Opportunity, Protecting life, Education Act or the HOPE Act
This bill provides funding for grants and other activities related to maternal care. It also establishes informed consent and parental notification requirements for abortion providers.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants to (1) entities that provide maternal care in rural and medically underserved areas and on tribal lands for purchasing equipment to conduct at-home telehealth visits; and (2) nonprofits (excluding those that provide abortions) for providing, at no cost, information about and referrals for medical care, nutritional services, and other social supports to encourage pregnant women to continue their pregnancies and care for the infants. Additionally, HHS must also disseminate, through a public website, pregnancy-related resources that are available through federal, state, and local governments and private entities.
Further, abortion providers must obtain informed consent 24 hours before performing an abortion through a form that must be signed by the woman seeking the abortion, and the bill specifies information that must be contained in the form, such as medical risks. Abortion providers must also notify parents at least 24 hours prior to performing an abortion on an individual who is under 18. The bill outlines specified exceptions to, enforcement mechanisms for, and civil penalties for violations of the informed consent and parental notification requirements.
The bill also prohibits federal funding of Planned Parenthood of America, Inc. or its affiliates, subject to certain exceptions, for one year following the enactment of the bill.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 21, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 3, 2023: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) introduced it on February 21, 2023. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 21, 2023, 1345 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1335 days ago, on March 3, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers