Sponsors (23)
The bill substantially improves access to and quality of reproductive and pregnancy care for incarcerated women and increases transparency, but it does so at meaningful federal cost and operational burden and raises implementation, privacy, and legal risks.
Women incarcerated in BOP facilities — especially pregnant women — will get timely specialty care: required OB-GYN evaluation within 14 days of intake and on-site, full-time board-certified OB-GYNs at facilities housing women, improving access, continuity, and early detection of pregnancy and reproductive health problems.
Incarcerated women will have guaranteed comprehensive reproductive services (contraception, prenatal and postpartum care, cancer screening) that can improve maternal and reproductive health outcomes.
Mandating trauma-informed care practices and language access protections improves quality of care and protects the rights of sexual-violence survivors and non-English speakers among incarcerated women.
Taxpayers and the federal budget will face increased costs because the BOP must hire full-time, board-certified OB-GYNs (higher staffing levels and salaries) and may pay more for interim coverage.
Operational and hiring challenges — including strict vacancy-fill deadlines, difficulty recruiting in rural/remote locations, reliance on costly locum tenens, and required facility reorganization or additional security/transport resources — could disrupt operations and create implementation delays or higher costs.
Guaranteeing a full range of reproductive services (including contraception and the right to refuse care) may prompt legal or political challenges in some jurisdictions, creating implementation uncertainty and potential litigation costs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires each federal prison housing women to employ a full‑time board‑certified OB‑GYN, ensure timely OB‑GYN visits and comprehensive gynecologic/pregnancy care, and report facility outcomes annually.
Introduced February 26, 2026 by Valerie Foushee · Last progress February 26, 2026
Requires every federal prison that houses women to employ at least one full‑time, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology–certified OB‑GYN and to provide timely, comprehensive gynecologic and pregnancy care. It mandates an initial OB‑GYN visit within 14 days of incarceration, lists required services (menstrual care, contraception, cancer screening, prenatal/postpartum care, mental health screening, etc.), protects informed consent and language access, requires trauma‑informed care and timely referrals/transport, and forbids denying care for cost or staffing reasons. Also requires the Bureau of Prisons to fill OB‑GYN vacancies within 42 days and to submit annual, facility‑level reports to Congress with staffing and pregnancy/outcome data (visits, hours worked, births, high‑risk pregnancies, pregnancy‑related deaths).