H.R. 48 (119th)Bill Overview

Ultrasound Informed Consent Act

Health|AbortionCivil actions and liability
Cosponsors
Support
Republican
Introduced
Jan 3, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does

<p><strong>Ultrasound Informed Consent Act</strong></p><p>This bill requires abortion providers to conduct an ultrasound before performing an abortion.</p><p>Specifically, before a woman gives informed consent to any part of an abortion, the abortion provider must</p><ul><li>perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman;</li><li>provide a simultaneous explanation of what the ultrasound is depicting;</li><li>display the ultrasound images so the woman may view them; and</li><li>provide a complete medical description of the images, including the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, cardiac activity if present and visible, and the presence of external members and internal organs if present and viewable.</li></ul><p>Providers are subject to civil actions and penalties for violations.</p><p>The bill's ultrasound requirements do not apply in cases where a physical disorder, illness, or injury endangers a woman's life. A woman is also not required to view the ultrasound images; nor may she or the provider be penalized if she declines to do so.</p>

Why people may split

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Watch point

The next hurdle is converting committee movement into a floor coalition.

<p><strong>Ultrasound Informed Consent Act</strong></p><p>This bill requires abortion providers to conduct an ultrasound before performing an abortion.</p><p>Specifically, before a woman gives informed consent to any part of an abortion, the abortion provider must</p><ul><li>perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman;</li><li>provide a simultaneous explanation of what the ultrasound is depicting;</li><li>display the ultrasound images so the woman may view them; and</li><li>provide a complete medical description of the images, including the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, cardiac activity if present and visible, and the presence of external members and internal organs if present and viewable.</li></ul><p>Providers are subject to civil actions and penalties for violations.</p><p>The bill's ultrasound requirements do not apply in cases where a physical disorder, illness, or injury endangers a woman's life.

A woman is also not required to view the ultrasound images; nor may she or the provider be penalized if she declines to do so.</p>

Passage38/100

This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention62/100

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Likely benefits vs burdens0% / 100%
Likely helpedLikely burdened

These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.

Likely helped
  • No clear beneficiaries surfaced yet.
Likely burdened
  • No clear downsides surfaced yet.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Progressive

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
Centrist

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
Conservative

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood38/100

This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.

Why this could stall
  • The next hurdle is converting committee movement into a floor coalition.
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.

Unlocked analysis

Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for Ultrasound Informed Consent Act.

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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