HRES 238
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that every person has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care.
Take action
Record your position on this measure.
Sign in to record your position, submit testimony, or contact your legislator.
Sign in to take action- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To President
- Became Law
Bill overview
This resolution asserts that every person has the fundamental right to receive emergency health care, including abortion care. It highlights the dangers posed by state laws that restrict or ban reproductive health services, particularly in emergency situations, and the potential for criminal penalties for medical providers. The resolution emphasizes that access to emergency care should not be discriminatory and that such restrictions disproportionately harm marginalized communities. It calls for ensuring all individuals can access necessary medical care without delay.
Key provisions
- Expresses the sense of the House that every person has the right to emergency health care.
- Specifically includes abortion care as part of this right.
- Notes the risks posed by state laws restricting abortion access in emergencies.
- Highlights the potential for criminal prosecution of providers who offer emergency care.
- States that access to emergency care should not be discriminatory.
- Emphasizes the disproportionate impact on people of color and LGBTQI+ individuals.
Who is affected
- Individuals seeking emergency healthcare
- Medical providers
- Pregnant people
- People of color
- LGBTQI+ individuals
Notable changes
- The resolution explicitly includes abortion care as a component of emergency healthcare.
- It calls attention to the potential legal ramifications for providers who offer emergency care in restricted states.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
Arguments in favor
Reasons to support this legislation.
No arguments in favor have been submitted.
Submit yoursArguments opposed
Reasons to oppose this legislation.
No arguments opposed have been submitted.
Submit yoursRead the latest version inline or switch to a previous version.
119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. RES. 238
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that every person has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care.
Whereas bans and restrictions on reproductive health care, including abortion care, put the health and lives of pregnant people at risk;
Whereas State laws that purport to ban and restrict abortion in emergency circumstances force medical providers to decide between withholding necessary, stabilizing medical care from a patient experiencing a medical emergency or face criminal prosecution put the life, health, and future of pregnant people at risk;
Whereas the harms of criminalizing medical providers providing emergency health care or patients receiving emergency health care are far reaching and providers and patients who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, immigrants, people with low incomes, and LGBTQI+ individuals are more likely to be put under the scrutiny of the legal system;
Whereas, every person, including every pregnant person, should be able to access emergency health care at an emergency department without discrimination;
Whereas delays and denials of emergency care, for any reason, risk the health and lives of patients;
Whereas the harms associated with abortion bans and other restrictions on reproductive health care have a disproportionate impact on patients of color, specifically Black and Indigenous pregnant patients, who are more likely to experience life-threatening pregnancy complications;
Whereas the chaos and confusion caused by abortion bans and restrictions can dissuade providers from providing appropriate medical care to patients when they need it the most, including in emergency care situations such as heart failure or high blood pressure which can be caused by a previous pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes, severe obstetric hemorrhage or infection, placenta previa where the placenta attaches to the cervix, and in some cases missed miscarriages, among many other emergency medical conditions; and
Whereas, every person has the basic right, and is entitled by law, to the emergency care they need to protect their health and lives, including abortion care: Now, therefore, be it