Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021
Latest action. clotureThe Senate's only procedure for ending debate over objection. Most legislation needs 60 votes; nominations need a simple majority.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 46 - 48. Record Vote Number: 65. (continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S826)
Women's Health Protection Act of 2021
This bill prohibits governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services.
Specifically, governments may not limit a provider's ability to
prescribe certain drugs,
offer abortion services via telemedicine, or
immediately provide abortion services when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health.
Furthermore, governments may not require a provider to
perform unnecessary medical procedures,
provide medically inaccurate information,
comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or
carry out all services connected to an abortion.
In addition, governments may not (1) require patients to make medically unnecessary in-person visits before receiving abortion services or disclose their reasons for obtaining such services, or (2) prohibit abortion services before fetal viability or after fetal viability when a provider determines the pregnancy risks the patient's life or health.
The bill also prohibits other governmental measures that are similar to the bill's specified restrictions or that otherwise single out and impede access to abortion services, unless a government demonstrates that the measure significantly advances the safety of abortion services or health of patients and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means.
The Department of Justice, individuals, or providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations.
The bill applies to restrictions imposed both prior and subsequent to the bill's enactment.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on September 24, 2021. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 46 - 48. Record Vote Number: 65. (CR S826)
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on February 28, 2022: Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 46 - 48. Record Vote Number: 65. (CR S826)
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 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps 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?
Judy Chu (D-CA) introduced it on June 8, 2021, and 215 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
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 June 8, 2021, 1920 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1655 days ago, on February 28, 2022.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 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
- HouseCloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 46 - 48. Record Vote Number: 65. (CR S826)
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action