Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025
The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025 would federalize robust protections for abortion access and the ability of health care providers to offer abortion services. It creates a federal standard that allows abortion before viability and, under the provider’s good-faith medical judgement, post-viability abortions when necessary to protect the life or health of the patient. The bill prohibits a wide range of restrictions that would impede access, prescribes criteria to evaluate whether a restriction unduly burdens abortion access, and asserts federal supremacy over conflicting laws (with some narrowly drawn exceptions). It also protects the right to travel to another state to obtain abortion care and to assist others in doing so, and it provides enforcement mechanisms including a private right of action and federal enforcement through the Attorney General. The bill positions abortion as essential health care and grounds its rationale in reproductive justice, human rights considerations, and the interstate nature of abortion services (given travel and cross-border care). It would take effect upon enactment and include broad definitions to cover providers, services, and the concept of viability. It also lays out a framework for courts to assess access barriers and for remedies to address violations of the act.
Key Points
- 1General protections for abortion access before viability and for providers to perform abortion services, with restrictions disallowed if they are more burdensome than medically comparable procedures, do not align with evidence-based guidelines, or unduly hinder access.
- 2Preemption and scope: the act supersedes inconsistent federal or state laws (with specific exceptions), and federal law enacted after enactment would be subject to this act unless expressly excluded.
- 3Definitions: key terms defined to cover abortion services, health care providers (including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and various licensed professionals), medically comparable procedures, viability, and the scope of state and local jurisdictions.
- 4Enforcement and remedies: a private right of action for individuals, health care providers, and others, plus federal enforcement by the Attorney General; allows for declaratory and equitable relief, damages, and attorney’s fees; pre-enforcement challenges and abrogation of state immunity to lawsuits.
- 5Right to travel and access protections: explicitly protects the right to travel to another state to obtain abortion care and to assist others in doing so, reinforcing interstate access and the ability to seek care across state lines.