Bill Summary
The "Support And Value Expectant Moms and Babies Act of 2025" (SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2025) aims to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to impose strict regulations on abortion drugs. Key provisions include:
1. **Prohibition of New Abortion Drugs**: The Secretary of Health and Human Services is barred from approving any new abortion drugs or investigational use exemptions for such drugs.
2. **Regulation of Existing Abortion Drugs**: For abortion drugs already approved, the act prevents any labeling changes that would allow their use after 70 days of gestation or permit their dispensing outside of in-person administration by a healthcare provider.
3. **Enhanced Requirements**: It introduces additional regulatory requirements, including risk evaluation and mitigation strategies. Healthcare practitioners prescribing abortion drugs must be certified and demonstrate specific competencies, such as assessing pregnancy duration and diagnosing ectopic pregnancies.
4. **Adverse Event Reporting**: The act mandates comprehensive reporting of adverse events related to abortion drugs, including fatalities and severe complications, while ensuring patient confidentiality.
5. **Definition of Abortion Drug**: It defines "abortion drug" broadly as any substance intended to terminate a pregnancy, excluding cases aimed at producing a live birth, treating ectopic pregnancies, or removing a deceased unborn child.
Overall, the legislation seeks to restrict access to abortion drugs and impose stricter oversight on their use, reflecting a significant shift in federal policy regarding reproductive health.
Possible Impacts
The "Support And Value Expectant Moms and Babies Act of 2025" (SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2025) could affect people in various ways. Here are three examples:
1. **Access to Abortion Services**: The legislation would prohibit the approval of new abortion drugs and restrict the use of existing ones. This could severely limit access to medication-based abortion options for individuals seeking to terminate a pregnancy, particularly in areas where surgical abortion services are not readily available. As a result, people may face increased difficulty in obtaining timely abortions, potentially leading to delayed procedures and associated health risks.
2. **Healthcare Provider Regulations**: The bill imposes stringent regulations on healthcare practitioners prescribing abortion drugs, including certification requirements, in-person administration, and specific training related to pregnancy assessment and complications. This could create barriers for healthcare providers and might discourage them from offering abortion services altogether. Consequently, patients may find it more challenging to receive care from qualified professionals, reducing their options for reproductive healthcare.
3. **Increased Reporting and Documentation Requirements**: The legislation mandates extensive reporting on adverse events related to abortion drugs, which includes detailed documentation by healthcare practitioners. This could result in heightened administrative burdens for both providers and patients. For providers, the need to comply with these regulations may detract from the time and resources available for patient care, while patients may experience delays or complications in obtaining care due to the additional steps required for documentation and reporting.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 685 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 685
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the
approval of new abortion drugs, to prohibit investigational use
exemptions for abortion drugs, and to impose additional regulatory
requirements with respect to previously approved abortion drugs, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 23, 2025
Mr. Latta (for himself, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Brecheen, Mr. Strong, Mrs.
Miller of Illinois, Mr. Webster of Florida, Mr. Finstad, Mr. Aderholt,
Mr. Feenstra, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Fulcher, Mr. Flood, Mr.
Mann, Mr. Harris of Maryland, Mr. Fong, Mr. Ellzey, Mr. Weber of Texas,
Mr. McCormick, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. Ogles, Mr. Guest, Mr. Higgins of
Louisiana, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Moore of North Carolina, Mr. Shreve, and Mr.
LaHood) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the
approval of new abortion drugs, to prohibit investigational use
exemptions for abortion drugs, and to impose additional regulatory
requirements with respect to previously approved abortion drugs, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Support And Value Expectant Moms and
Babies Act of 2025'' or the ``SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. ABORTION DRUGS PROHIBITED.
(a) In General.--Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355) (as amended by Public Law 117-328) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(aa) Abortion Drugs.--
``(1) Prohibitions.--The Secretary shall not approve--
``(A) any application submitted under subsection
(b) or (j) for marketing an abortion drug; or
``(B) grant an investigational use exemption under
subsection (i) for--
``(i) an abortion drug; or
``(ii) any investigation in which the
unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant is
knowingly destroyed.
``(2) Previously approved abortion drugs.--If an approval
described in paragraph (1) is in effect for an abortion drug as
of the date of enactment of the Support And Value Expectant
Moms and Babies Act of 2025, the Secretary shall--
``(A) not approve any labeling change--
``(i) to approve the use of such abortion
drug after 70 days gestation; or
``(ii) to approve the dispensing of such
abortion drug by any means other than in-person
administration by the prescribing health care
practitioner;
``(B) treat such abortion drug as subject to
section 503(b)(1); and
``(C) require such abortion drug to be subject to a
risk evaluation and mitigation strategy under section
505-1 that at a minimum--
``(i) requires health care practitioners
who prescribe such abortion drug--
``(I) to be certified in accordance
with the strategy; and
``(II) to not be acting in their
capacity as a pharmacist;
``(ii) as part of the certification process
referred to in clause (i), requires such
practitioners--
``(I) to have the ability to assess
the duration of pregnancy accurately;
``(II) to have the ability to
diagnose ectopic pregnancies;
``(III) to have the ability to
provide surgical intervention in cases
of incomplete abortion or severe
bleeding;
``(IV) to have the ability to
ensure patient access to medical
facilities equipped to provide blood
transfusions and resuscitation, if
necessary; and
``(V) to report any deaths or other
adverse events associated with the use
of such abortion drug to the Food and
Drug Administration and to the
manufacturer of such abortion drug,
identifying the patient by a non-
identifiable reference and the serial
number from each package of such
abortion drug;
``(iii) limits the dispensing of such
abortion drug to patients--
``(I) in a clinic, medical office,
or hospital by means of in-person
administration by the prescribing
health care practitioner; and
``(II) not in pharmacies or any
setting other than the health care
settings described in subclause (I);
``(iv) requires the prescribing health care
practitioner to give to the patient
documentation on any risk of serious
complications associated with use of such
abortion drug and receive acknowledgment of
such receipt from the patient;
``(v) requires all known adverse events
associated with such abortion drug to be
reported, excluding any individually
identifiable patient information, to the Food
and Drug Administration by the--
``(I) manufacturers of such
abortion drug; and
``(II) prescribers of such abortion
drug; and
``(vi) requires reporting of administration
of the abortion drug as required by State law,
or in the absence of a State law regarding such
reporting, in the same manner as a surgical
abortion.
``(3) Reporting on adverse events by other health care
practitioners.--The Secretary shall require all other health
care practitioners to report to the Food and Drug
Administration any adverse events experienced by their patients
that are connected to use of an abortion drug, excluding any
individually identifiable patient information.
``(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to restrict the authority of the Federal
Government, or of a State, to establish, implement, and enforce
requirements and restrictions with respect to abortion drugs
under provisions of law other than this section that are in
addition to the requirements and restrictions under this
section.
``(5) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) The term `abortion drug' means any drug,
substance, or combination of drugs or substances that
is intended for use or that is in fact used
(irrespective of how the product is labeled) to
intentionally kill the unborn child of a woman known to
be pregnant, or to intentionally terminate the
pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with an
intention other than--
``(i) to produce a live birth;
``(ii) to remove a dead unborn child; or
``(iii) to treat an ectopic pregnancy.
``(B) The term `adverse event' includes each of the
following:
``(i) A fatality.
``(ii) An ectopic pregnancy.
``(iii) A hospitalization.
``(iv) A blood loss requiring a
transfusion.
``(v) An infection, including endometritis,
pelvic inflammatory disease, and pelvic
infections with sepsis.
``(vi) A severe infection.
``(C) The term `gestation' means the period of days
beginning on the first day of the last menstrual
period.
``(D) The term `health care practitioner' means any
individual who is licensed, registered, or otherwise
permitted, by the United States or the jurisdiction in
which the individual practices, to prescribe drugs
subject to section 503(b)(1).
``(E) The term `unborn child' means an individual
organism of the species homo sapiens, beginning at
fertilization, until the point of being born alive as
defined in section 8(b) of title 1, United States
Code.''.
(b) Ongoing Investigational Use.--In the case of any
investigational use of a drug pursuant to an investigational use
exemption under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act (21 U.S.C. 355(i)) that was granted before the date of enactment of
this Act, such exemption is deemed to be rescinded as of the day that
is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act if the Secretary
would be prohibited by section 505(aa)(1)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act, as added by subsection (a), from granting such
exemption as of such day.
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