Sponsors (15)
The bill increases federal oversight, reporting, and enforcement consistency around alleged violations of 18 U.S.C. §1531—potentially improving accountability and informing reforms—but at the cost of greater criminalization risk, privacy harms, and operational and legal burdens for patients, providers, and government resources.
Pregnant people, alleged victims, and healthcare providers will face more consistent federal investigations and DOJ reporting into alleged violations of 18 U.S.C. §1531, increasing the likelihood of accountability and potential prosecution when unlawful conduct is found.
Congress, GAO, and federal oversight bodies (and thus taxpayers) will receive consolidated reports and authoritative information (including a DOJ report and a GAO review covering FY2004–FY2024) to identify gaps and inform policy or enforcement reforms.
Health care workers and facility staff are more likely to report suspected violations, producing timelier tips to law enforcement and enabling faster investigations of alleged criminal activity in medical settings.
Pregnant people and patients seeking reproductive health care face increased federal criminal enforcement risk and potential reduction in access to certain reproductive services as investigations and prosecutions rise.
Patient privacy and medical confidentiality could be compromised because mandatory or broadened reporting and subpoenas may expose sensitive reproductive health information.
Hospitals, clinics, and clinicians may face more investigations, higher legal costs, operational burdens, and compliance uncertainty from expanded reporting and enforcement, straining health systems and diverting resources from patient care.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by Keith Self · Last progress January 31, 2025
Requires the Attorney General to investigate alleged violations of the federal ban on partial-birth abortion and to report to Congress about a specific set of recovered infant remains and about enforcement activity more broadly. It also makes DOJ investigation and enforcement of that federal ban mandatory, requires health care workers and employees of hospitals, physicians’ offices, and abortion clinics to report known violations to law enforcement, orders annual DOJ public reports on enforcement activity and outreach, and directs the GAO to review enforcement for FY2004–FY2024. The bill adds new reporting and oversight duties without providing new funding in the text, creates timelines for DOJ and GAO reports, and includes a severability clause so other provisions remain in force if part is held unconstitutional.