# Women's Health Protection Act of 2022

This bill would create a federal right to abortion services across the entire United States, overriding state laws that restrict or ban abortion. It was introduced in response to the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion and allowed states to ban the procedure entirely. The bill aims to restore access to abortion nationwide by preventing states from imposing restrictions that single out abortion for stricter rules than other comparable medical procedures.

The core of the bill prohibits the federal government and states from blocking or substantially limiting people's ability to get an abortion before fetal viability (roughly 24 weeks of pregnancy) or after viability when necessary to protect the pregnant person's life or health. It also protects doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers from being punished or losing their licenses for providing abortion services. The bill specifically targets what supporters call "medically unnecessary" restrictions—like mandatory waiting periods, biased counseling requirements, or rules that apply only to abortion clinics but not to other outpatient medical facilities. For example, if a state requires abortion clinics to meet building standards that don't apply to other surgical centers, that would be prohibited under this bill.

The bill addresses real barriers people face in accessing abortion. It notes that in some parts of the country, people must travel over 100 miles to reach an abortion provider, and that many counties have no abortion providers at all. The legislation argues these restrictions disproportionately harm low-income people, people of color, immigrants, young people, and rural residents who have fewer resources to travel. It also emphasizes that abortion restrictions often affect clinics that provide other essential services like contraception, STI testing, and cancer screenings, so limiting abortion access can reduce access to these other services too.

If passed, this bill would fundamentally change the abortion landscape by making access uniform across all states rather than allowing each state to set its own rules. People in states with current abortion bans would regain access to the procedure, while states with existing protections would see those protections reinforced at the federal level. Healthcare providers in restrictive states would be able to offer abortion services without fear of losing their medical licenses or facing criminal penalties.

Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022

Women's Health Protection Act of 2022 This bill prohibits governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services. Specifically, governments may not limit a provider's ability to <ul> <li>prescribe certain drugs,</li> <li>offer abortion services via telemedicine, or</li> <li>immediately provide abortion services when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health. </li> </ul> Furthermore, governments may not require a provider to <ul> <li>perform unnecessary medical procedures,</li> <li>provide medically inaccurate information,</li> <li>comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or</li> <li>carry out all services connected to an abortion. </li> </ul> In addition, governments may not (1) require patients to make medically unnecessary in-person visits before receiving abortion services or disclose their reasons for obtaining such services, or (2) prohibit abortion services before fetal viability or after fetal viability when a provider determines the pregnancy risks the patient's life or health. The bill also prohibits other governmental measures that are similar to the bill's specified restrictions or that otherwise single out and impede access to abortion services, unless a government demonstrates that the measure significantly advances the safety of abortion services or health of patients and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The Department of Justice, individuals, or providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations. The bill applies to restrictions imposed both prior and subsequent to the bill's enactment.