Women's Health Protection Act of 2017

Women's Health Protection Act of 2017

This bill prohibits any government from imposing on abortion services:

• a requirement that a medical professional perform specific tests or medical procedures;
• a requirement that the same clinician who performs a patient's abortion also perform additional tests, services or procedures;
• a limitation on an abortion provider's ability to prescribe or dispense drugs or provide services via telemedicine;
• 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 those facilities;
• a requirement that, prior to obtaining an abortion, a patient make medically unnecessary in-person visits to any individual or entity;
• a limitation on medical training for abortion procedures;
• a prohibition prior to fetal viability, including a prohibition on a particular abortion procedure;
• a prohibition after fetal viability when continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the woman's life or health;
• a restriction on a woman's ability to obtain an immediate abortion when a delay would pose a risk to the woman's health; or
• a 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.

A measure or action that is similar to a requirement or limitation listed above is prohibited if it singles out abortion services or makes abortion services more difficult to access and does not significantly advance women's health or the safety of abortion services.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov