Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
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. 53 - 44. Record Vote Number: 57. (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) S1136)
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
This bill establishes a new criminal offense for performing or attempting to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 11, 2020. 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. 53 - 44. Record Vote Number: 57. (CR S1136)
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 25, 2020: Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 44. Record Vote Number: 57. (CR S1136)
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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 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?
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced it on February 11, 2020, and 47 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 47 Republicans.
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 11, 2020, 2403 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2389 days ago, on February 25, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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
- SenateCloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 44. Record Vote Number: 57. (CR S1136)
- HouseNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action