Women's Health Protection Act
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The Women's Health Protection Act () is a piece of legislation introduced in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, aimed at expanding abortion rights established in '' Roe v. Wade'' (1973) and '' Planned Parenthood v. Casey'' (1992). It was first introduced in 2013 by Congresswoman Judy Chu and sponsored by
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal ( ; born February 13, 1946) is an American politician, lawyer, and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from ...
. In the 117th Congress, the act was re-introduced in response to '' Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson'' and later '' Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization''. In September 2021, it passed the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
by a vote of 218–211, and again by a vote of 219–210 in July 2022, but it was defeated in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
on a 46–48 vote in February 2022 and a 49–51 vote in May 2022. Among key facets of the bill include preventing state and local governments from regulating abortions before fetal viability, or when the mother's life or health is at risk after fetal viability, and preventing government from restricting access to abortion services unless a compelling state interest has been shown in such restrictions. Violations would be investigated and prosecuted by the Department of Justice.


Legislative history

As of July 10, 2024:


See also

* Abortion in the United States * United States abortion-rights movement


References

Proposed legislation of the 117th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 116th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 114th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 113th United States Congress Abortion-rights movement in the United States United States proposed federal civil rights legislation Proposed legislation of the 118th United States Congress {{Statute-stub