119-hres611

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 611 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 611

 Expressing the importance of accurate information for medical 
professionals treating pregnant women and their unborn children in the 
 emergency department, and for informing the general public, and for 
 other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 25, 2025

 Mrs. Cammack (for herself, Mr. Onder, Mr. Harris of Maryland, Mrs. 
 Biggs of South Carolina, Mrs. Fischbach, and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
 on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Expressing the importance of accurate information for medical 
professionals treating pregnant women and their unborn children in the 
 emergency department, and for informing the general public, and for 
 other purposes.

Whereas, in June 2022, the United States Supreme Court returned authority to 
 regulate, and even limit, elective-induced abortion to the people, 
 through their elected representatives, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's 
 Health Organization;
Whereas 22 States now protect unborn children from elective-induced abortion at 
 or before 12 weeks gestation, and most States limit abortion at some 
 point in pregnancy;
Whereas, under Federal guidance and Department of Health and Human Services

    (HHS) policy, ``abortion'' is defined as the intentional termination of 
 a pregnancy with an outcome other than live birth or the removal of a 
 dead fetus, and this definition excludes medical treatment for 
 miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy;
Whereas every State's law permits abortion in the rare and heartbreaking 
 circumstances where it is required to save the life of the mother, and 
 every State's law permits medical professionals to intervene in a life-
 threatening situation, even if such intervention may end the life of the 
 unborn child;
Whereas an ectopic pregnancy occurs when the embryo implants somewhere other 
 than the uterine lining and therefore cannot mature and will eventually 
 rupture, and the Mayo Clinic describes the seriousness of an ectopic 
 pregnancy diagnosis thusly: ``ectopic pregnancy can't proceed normally. 
 The fertilized egg can't survive, and the growing tissue may cause life-
 threatening bleeding, if left untreated'';
Whereas the vast majority of obstetricians and gynecologists do not perform 
 elective-induced abortions, and there is no such disagreement within the 
 profession regarding treatment of life-threatening conditions such as 
 ectopic pregnancy;
Whereas the indicated treatments for ectopic pregnancy and the types of abortion 
 both fall into 2 categories (drug-induced and surgical), and the 
 medications used and types of surgery used for abortion are different 
 than those used to treat ectopic pregnancy;
Whereas the clinical treatment of an ectopic pregnancy pharmaceutically uses the 
 medication methotrexate, and induced abortion as approved by the Food 
 and Drug Administration

    (FDA) uses 2 different drugs, mifepristone and 
 misoprostol;
Whereas the mifepristone and misoprostol abortion drug regimen is 
 contraindicated for ectopic pregnancy because they will not remove an 
 ectopic embryo or resolve the life-threatening risk of ectopic rupture;
Whereas, similarly, the surgical procedures performed to treat an ectopic 
 pregnancy (salpingectomy or salpingostomy) differ clinically from any of 
 the methods of surgical abortion which include aspiration, dilation and 
 curettage, dilation and evacuation, and partial-birth abortion;
Whereas, despite longstanding recognition that treating a medical emergency and 
 performing an elective-induced abortion are different, medically, 
 ethically, and legally, some medical groups have blurred the lines post-
 Dobbs for political reasons, leading to confusion on the part of well-
 meaning medical professionals who were not performing abortions prior to 
 the abortion laws changing;
Whereas, for example, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

    (ACOG) describes an ectopic pregnancy on its FAQ page as ``a life-
 threatening emergency that needs immediate surgery'';
Whereas medical professionals affiliated with the American Association of Pro-
 Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists

    (AAPLOG) affirm that ``treatment of 
 an ectopic pregnancy is not the same thing as performing an abortion'', 
 that ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening condition requiring prompt 
 medical intervention, and that failure to treat it would constitute 
 malpractice;
Whereas States apply the same standards to abortion law exceptions, reasonable 
 medical judgment or, less commonly, good faith judgment, that are used 
 in many other areas of law governing medical professionals, including 
 mental competence, end-of-life decisions, medical malpractice, informed 
 consent, and Federal laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act and 
 the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act

    (EMTALA) , and in most 
 States, the evaluating standard of whether the exception applies did not 
 change from the pre-Dobbs laws;
Whereas, due to consensus on the ethical difference between abortion and 
 treatment for ectopic pregnancy, some States have explicitly excluded 
 this condition from the State's definition of ``abortion'', including 
 Alabama (``does not include a procedure or act to treat an ectopic 
 pregnancy''), Georgia (``shall not be considered an abortion if the act 
 is performed with the purpose of removing an ectopic pregnancy''), 
 Nebraska (``shall under no circumstances be interpreted to include 
 removal of an ectopic pregnancy''), Wyoming (``shall not include any 
 use, prescription or means done with the intent to treat a woman for an 
 ectopic pregnancy''), and Florida, which defines ``abortion'' as ``the 
 termination of human pregnancy with an intention other than to produce a 
 live birth or to remove a dead fetus'' (Fla. Stat. 

Sec. 390.011

    (1) ), 
 thereby excluding treatment for ectopic pregnancies; and
Whereas the laws governing abortion do not affect treatment for ectopic 
 pregnancy, and conflating emergency medical treatment with elective-
 induced abortion causes delays in care, confusion among medical 
 professionals and their patients, and even inappropriate treatment that 
 is not clinically indicated: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) recognizes the need to help guide future policy so 
 medical professionals know that they can act to treat an 
 ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage;

    (2) calls for medical providers to ensure that the public 
 knows that treatment for ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage is 
 legal in every State;

    (3) calls for medical organizations to accurately advise 
 their members on the differences between elective-induced 
 abortion and medical intervention for ectopic pregnancy or 
 miscarriage; and

    (4) calls for institutions of higher education training 
 doctors, nurses, and other emergency department personnel to 
 accurately instruct their students about the differences 
 between elective-induced abortion and treatment for ectopic 
 pregnancy or miscarriage, and the critical-thinking processes 
 they need to make these decisions with their future patients.
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