HR 3471 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Women's Health Protection Act of 2013

Fact sheet

Latest action · Nov 15, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedNov 13, 2013
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Women's Health Protection Act of 2013 - Makes the following limitations and requirements concerning abortion services unlawful and prohibits their imposition or application by any government:

  • a requirement that a medical professional perform specific tests or follow specific medical procedures, unless generally required in the case of medically comparable procedures;
  • a limitation on an abortion provider's ability to delegate tasks, other than one applicable to medically comparable procedures;
  • a limitation on an abortion provider's ability to prescribe or dispense drugs based on her or his good-faith medical judgment, other than one generally applicable;
  • a limitation on an abortion provider's ability to provide abortion services via telemedicine, other than one generally applicable;
  • a requirement or limitation concerning the physical plant, equipment, staffing, or hospital transfer arrangements of facilities where abortions are performed, or the credentials, hospital privileges, or status of personnel at such facilities that is not otherwise imposed where medically comparable procedures are performed;
  • a requirement that, prior to obtaining an abortion, a woman make medically unnecessary visits to the provider of abortion services or to any individual or entity that does not provide such services; and
  • a requirement or limitation that prohibits or restricts medical training for abortion procedures, other than one generally applicable to medically comparable procedures.

Makes unlawful a measure or action that restricts the provision of abortion services, or the facilities that provide them, that is similar to any of those described above if it singles out abortion services or make abortion services more difficult to access and does not significantly advance women's health or the safety of abortion services.

Provides standards for the making of a prima facie case in a civil action challenging such restrictions and factors to be considered by a court in determining whether a measure or action impedes access to abortion services.

Makes the following other restrictions on the performance of abortion unlawful and prohibits their imposition or application by any government:

  • a prohibition or ban prior to fetal viability;
  • a prohibition after fetal viability when, in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating physician, continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the woman's life or health;
  • a restriction that limits a woman's ability to obtain an immediate abortion when a health care professional believes, based on good-faith medical judgment, that delay would pose a risk to the woman's health; and
  • a prohibition or restriction on obtaining an abortion prior to fetal viability based on a woman's reasons or perceived reasons or that requires her to state her reasons before obtaining an abortion prior to fetal viability.

Requires courts to liberally construe the provisions of this Act.

Authorizes the Attorney General or an individual or entity aggrieved by (or a health facility or medical professional adversely affected by) a violation of this Act, to commence a civil action for injunctive relief.

Preempts any provision enacted by a state or subdivision having the force of law that conflicts with any provision of this Act.

Cosponsors 132

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 13, 2013 to Nov 20, 2014, with 59 there on the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-WAAdam SmithOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-CAAlan S. LowenthalOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-CAAmi BeraOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-AZAnn KirkpatrickOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-NHAnn M. KusterOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-CABarbara LeeOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-MNBetty McCollumOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-CABrad ShermanOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-IABruce L. BraleyOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-NYCarolyn B. MaloneyOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-NYCharles B. RangelOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-FLCorrine BrownOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-MIDaniel T. KildeeOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-ILDanny K. DavisOriginalNov 13, 2013
D-IADavid LoebsackOriginalNov 13, 2013

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Nov 15, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  2. Nov 13, 2013Introduced in House
  3. Nov 13, 2013Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 1696Women's Health Protection Act of 2013Identical billJul 15, 2014

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Nov 13, 2013Introduced in House

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.