Democratic Del. Margaret Franklin in Virginia sponsored a bill to require insurance carriers to provide coverage for maternal mental health screenings that can help combat postpartum depression in the 2026 legislative session. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
The Republican-majority U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to uphold a Trump administration policy banning abortion care and counseling for veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities. Last year, the Trump administration overturned a Biden-era policy that made abortion procedures and counseling in cases of rape, incest or a medical emergency available at VA facilities.
Elsewhere in Congress, Democratic U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Cory Booker of New Jersey announced a legislative package called the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. First introduced in 2020, this version focuses on parents of color and includes proposals to invest in the perinatal workforce, telehealth, insurance coverage and data collection.
Virginia could soon see similar state legislation become law, as Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign a series of bills to improve maternal health outcomes. Other states expanding reproductive health access include Wisconsin, which is the second-to-last state to expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum women to a year, and Illinois and Washington, which are trying to ensure abortion access for low-income and uninsured patients.
States with already strict abortion bans continue to pass and advance new restrictions, paving the way for other states. South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden just signed laws that clarify when pregnancy termination constitutes an abortion and make it illegal to advertise abortion pills. In states with abortion rights, like Kansas and Ohio, Republican lawmakers continue to try and regulate information related to abortion.
In Kansas, where abortion is allowed up to 22 weeks gestation, the Republican-majority legislature earlier this month passed three bills to increase regulation for abortion providers and simultaneously protect anti-abortion pregnancy centers from regulation. These new laws, which have been sent to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk, could affect an ongoing lawsuit challenging the state’s informed consent law around abortion if enacted.
Our reproductive rights reporting team has been tracking these bills closely this year. Depending on the partisan makeup of a state’s legislature and other state government officials, some bills have a better chance of passing and becoming law than others.
Illinois
House Bill 5408: The House advanced legislation that would create a state grant program to cover abortion care for uninsured and underinsured women. Similar legislation has passed in California and Maryland.
Status: Approved by the House Human Services Committee
Sponsor: Democratic Rep. Anna Moeller
Kansas
House Bill 2635: This legislation establishes a regulatory shield for anti-abortion pregnancy centers, which have come under scrutiny around the country for general lack of oversight despite many of them providing services like ultrasounds. Unless vetoed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, the “center autonomy and rights of expression” or CARE act will prohibit state and local governments from imposing regulations on these centers, including the pregnancy and parenting services they provide. The law, modeled after legislation spearheaded by the Alliance Defending Freedom, ensures no pregnancy center would be forced to offer abortions.
Status: Presented to the governor on March 17; she can veto it, sign it or let it become law without her signature
House Bill 2727: If enacted, this legislation would allow lawsuits against abortion providers who violate informed consent laws while bypassing the medical malpractice review process.
Status: Passed by the House and Senate; sent to the governor’s desk
House Bill 2729: If enacted, this bill would require the state health department to create standardized forms that physicians must provide to patients 24 hours before the abortion and must include information about the physician, including any disciplinary actions.
Status: Passed by the House and Senate; sent to the governor’s desk
Ohio
House Bill 347: The bill would add a 24-hour waiting period before abortion care and is similar to a state law that is blocked amid litigation. The state medical board would also be authorized to create rules “specifying adverse physical or psychological conditions arising from abortion that a physician must disclose as possible complications when meeting with the pregnant (person) as part of the informed consent process.”
Status: Passed by the House; introduced in the Senate
Sponsors: Republican Reps. Mike Odioso and Josh Williams
House Bill 783: After having failed to pass in previous years, this bill would require Ohio doctors and the state health department to promote a controversial and unproven protocol known as abortion pill reversal. It has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and doesn’t have robust data to support that it works, outside of anti-abortion think tanks. A study on the method’s efficacy was previously halted for safety concerns.
Status: Referred to the House Health Committee
Sponsors: Republican Reps. Jennifer Gross and Johnathan Newman
South Dakota
In a state where abortion is already banned throughout pregnancy, Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden last week signed three new anti-abortion bills into law.
House Bill 1274: This new law makes it a felony to dispense or advertise abortion pills and related items, and authorizes the state attorney general to seek up to $10,000 in penalties for each violation.
Status: Signed into law March 20
Sponsor: Republican Rep. John Hughes
House Bill 1257: This new law amends the state’s definition of abortion to “the intentional termination of the life of a human being in the uterus.” Now medical treatments to resolve a miscarriage or to remove an ectopic pregnancy or “deceased unborn child” will not be considered abortions under the state law. Also not considered abortions are treatments intended to save the pregnancy or pregnant person that results in termination.
Status: Signed into law March 20
Sponsor: Republican Rep. Leslie Heinemann
House Bill 1313: This new law will require South Dakota schools to show students videos of prenatal development that include “the progress of prenatal human development from fertilization through birth.”
Status: Signed into law March 20
Sponsor: Republican Rep. Tony Kayser
Virginia
In Virginia, several maternal health and child care measures that were vetoed by former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin advanced in this year’s General Assembly session and now head to Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk. The governor has until April 13 to either sign them, seek amendments or veto them.
Senate Bill 2: This bill would establish worker paid family and medical leave for up to 12 weeks.
Status: Passed by the House and Senate; sent to the governor’s desk
Sponsor: Democratic Sen. Jennifer Boysko
Senate Bill 3: This bill would allow the state to match employers’ contributions to help families afford child care.
Status: Passed by the House and Senate; sent to the governor’s desk
Sponsor: Democratic Sen. Lashrecse Aird
House Bill 1400: This bill would require health insurance carriers to cover for maternal mental health screenings to help people identify and treat postpartum depression.
Status: Passed by the House and Senate; sent to the governor’s desk
Sponsor: Democratic Del. Margaret Franklin
House Bill 1403: This bill would expand the scope of the state’s maternal mortality review team to include review of severe maternal morbidity.
Status: Passed by the House and Senate; sent to the governor’s desk
Sponsor: Democratic Del. Margaret Franklin
Washington
Senate Bill 5917: This newly signed law’s purpose is to make it easier for people to access the state’s expiring abortion pill stockpile. The law eliminates a state requirement to sell its mifepristone pills for at least the purchase price plus an extra $5 fee per dose. Now the state no longer has to get paid and the Department of Corrections is required to coordinate with the Department of Health to identify recipients for the pills.
Status: Signed into law
Sponsor: Democratic Sen. Jessica Bateman
Wisconsin
Senate Bill 23: With this newly signed law, Wisconsin this month became the 49th state to provide a year of coverage for postpartum mothers on Medicaid.
Status: Signed by the governor
Sponsor: Republican Sen. Jesse James
This story was originally produced by News From The States, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Alabama Reflector, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
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Author: Sofia Resnick