This bill requires states to report abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a standardized way. Currently, abortion reporting is voluntary, which means some states don't report any data at all—in fact, three states representing 15% of the country's women of childbearing age report nothing. This creates gaps in public health information that policymakers and researchers need.

Under this bill, states would have to submit specific information about abortions to the CDC, including details like the mother's age, how far along the pregnancy was, the method used, and whether the child survived the procedure. States would need to report this data by December 31 each year, starting a couple of years after the law passes. The CDC would create a standard form that all states must use, ensuring everyone reports the same information in the same way.

To enforce this requirement, the bill ties abortion data reporting to federal funding for family planning services. If a state doesn't submit the required data on time, it could lose federal money for family planning—though states get a grace period to submit late data without losing funding. If a state is caught deliberately providing false information, it would lose that federal funding for a full year. The CDC would also be required to publish an annual report summarizing all the abortion data collected, making this information available to the public.

Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2023

Ernst, Joni

Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2023 This bill requires states, as a condition of federal payment under Medicaid for family planning services, to report certain abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Currently, reporting is voluntary.) The CDC must develop standardized questions for states with respect to specified variables (e.g., maternal demographics and methods of abortion).