Supporters of abortion have long feared that Roe v. Wade would be overturned and abortion decisions left up to state legislatures – which happened on June 24, 2022. To prepare for that day, some states have been passing sweeping new abortion laws. For example, in January 2019, New York’s Governor signed the Reproductive Health Act that expanded abortion rights and allowed abortion right up to the point of birth. Illinois soon followed with its own version of this legislation, and Virginia’s then-Governor Ralph Northam (D) expressed his belief that if babies in Virginia were born alive during an abortion, they should be left to die.

To close loopholes in federal law, pro-life Members of Congress have introduced the Born Alive Abortion Survivor’s Protection Act (H.R. 21/S.6). If signed into law, this legislation not only extends criminal penalties to health care providers who practice infanticide, but it requires that any baby born alive during an abortion be treated with the same standard of care given to a non-aborted baby of the same gestational age. This bill would ensure that babies will not be cast aside, ignored, or left to die.

In 2022, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to allow a vote on this legislation by the full House, and pro-abortion Senators also blocked a procedural attempt to vote on the bill in the Senate. In January 2023, The Honorable Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) became Speaker and a vote on this legislation was one of the first actions taken.

In 2025, the Senate—led by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD)—offered a procedural (cloture) motion to allow S. 6 to come up for a vote. That motion required 60 yes votes and failed 52-47; no Senate vote was taken. That same week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) allowed a Floor vote. The House passe voted on H.R 21 by a vote of 217-204.

Now that this legislation has passed in the House of Representatives, the only remaining hurdle is Senate passage. If 60 Senators support S. 6, it would pass the Senate and go to President Trump, who would likely sign it into law.