H.R. 8296 · 117th Congress

Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022

Introduced on Jul 7, 2022 by Judy Chu (D-CA-27). 3 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Jul 18, 2022): Received in the Senate.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jul 7, 2022
Cosponsors
3
0 from the other party
Policy area
Health
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To protect a person’s ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide abortion services.

Subjects

  • Abortion
  • Civil actions and liability
  • Disability and health-based discrimination
  • Federal preemption
  • Health care coverage and access
  • Health facilities and institutions
  • Health technology, devices, supplies
  • Internet, web applications, social media
  • Medical tests and diagnostic methods
  • Prescription drugs
  • State and local government operations
  • Women's health

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Jul 15, 2022). Public domain.

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

  • prescribe certain drugs,
  • offer abortion services via telemedicine, or
  • immediately provide abortion services when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health.

Furthermore, governments may not require a provider to

  • perform unnecessary medical procedures,
  • provide medically inaccurate information,
  • comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or
  • carry out all services connected to an abortion.

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.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Judy ChuD-CA-27Sponsor

Democrats · 3

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Recommit
    Jul 15, 2022· House· Procedural· Failed 209–218
  2. On Passage
    Jul 15, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 219–210

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jul 7, 2022Introduced in House
  2. Jul 7, 2022Introduced in House
  3. Jul 7, 2022 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  4. Jul 13, 2022 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 1224 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 7900, S. 3373, H.R. 8296, H.R. 8297 and H.R. 6538 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order.
  5. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 1224. (consideration: CR H6631-6647)
  6. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 7900, S. 3373, H.R. 8296, H.R. 8297 and H.R. 6538 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order.
  7. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 8296.
  8. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  9. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseMrs. Fischbach moved to recommit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. (text: CR H6646-6647)
  10. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseThe previous question on the motion to recommit was ordered pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX.
  11. Jul 15, 2022 · HousePOSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on H.R. 8296, the Chair put the question on the Fischbach motion to recommit and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mrs. Fischbach demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.
  12. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H6660-6661)
  13. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseOn motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 209 - 218 (Roll no. 359).House · Roll call 359
  14. Jul 15, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 219 - 210 (Roll no. 360).House · Roll call 360
  15. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 219 - 210 (Roll no. 360). (text: CR H6631-6634)House · Roll call 360
  16. Jul 15, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  17. Jul 18, 2022 · SenateReceived in the Senate.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.