Sponsors (20)
The bill substantially improves timely access to comprehensive, specialist OB-GYN care and transparency for pregnant people in federal custody—likely improving maternal outcomes and protecting rights—while increasing federal costs, operational burdens, and raising implementation, privacy, and political/legal challenges.
Women incarcerated in Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities will receive timely, specialty prenatal and reproductive care — including an OB-GYN evaluation within 14 days of intake, on-site full‑time board‑certified OB-GYNs where women are housed, guaranteed specialist referrals, and timely transportation — improving access and continuity of care.
Women in BOP custody will have access to a comprehensive range of reproductive health services (contraception, prenatal/postpartum care, cancer screening) and the right to accept or refuse treatment, supporting reproductive autonomy and better maternal health outcomes.
Pregnant people and the public will get annual, facility-level data on pregnancy outcomes and OB-GYN staffing (vacancies and durations), enabling Congress, the BOP, and the public to identify understaffed facilities and target corrective actions to reduce pregnancy-related harms.
Taxpayers and the federal budget will face higher costs because the BOP must hire full‑time, board‑certified OB-GYNs (and potentially pay locum or higher salaries to recruit), increasing federal spending on staffing and benefits.
Provision of a full range of reproductive services (including contraception and refusal rights) could prompt legal or political challenges in some jurisdictions, creating implementation uncertainty and potential litigation or policy pushback.
Strict hiring and vacancy-fill deadlines (e.g., 42 days) may be difficult to meet in rural or remote locations, risking temporary noncompliance, reliance on costly locum tenens, or gaps in care.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires the BOP to staff each facility housing women with a full‑time board‑certified OB‑GYN, ensure timely OB‑GYN care and protections, and report pregnancy outcomes to Congress annually.
Introduced February 26, 2026 by Valerie Foushee · Last progress February 26, 2026
Requires the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that every federal facility housing women employs at least one full‑time, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology–certified OB‑GYN, provides an initial OB‑GYN visit within 14 days of imprisonment, and guarantees a set of pregnancy and gynecologic services with protections like informed consent, language access, and trauma‑informed care. It also forces timely filling of OB‑GYN vacancies and requires the BOP to report annually to Congress on facility staffing, patient visits, pregnancy outcomes, and pregnancy‑related deaths.