S.178 - Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2025 (119th Congress)
Summary
S.178, the "Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2025," aims to amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act and the Public Health Service Act. The goal is to improve abortion data reporting to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The bill mandates that states submit abortion data to the CDC as a condition for receiving Medicaid payments for certain family planning services.
Expected Effects
If enacted, this bill would lead to more standardized and complete data collection on abortions nationwide. States that fail to comply with the reporting requirements could face the loss of federal funding for specific family planning services. The CDC would be required to issue annual reports on abortion data.
Potential Benefits
- Improved data collection would allow for more informed public health and policy analysis.
- Standardized reporting could lead to a better understanding of abortion trends and demographics.
- Technical assistance provided to states could improve the accuracy and completeness of reporting.
- Public availability of data promotes transparency and accountability.
- Potential for better allocation of resources based on data-driven insights.
Most Benefited Areas:
Potential Disadvantages
- States may face increased administrative burdens and costs associated with data collection and reporting.
- Potential for political disputes over the definition and scope of abortion data.
- Loss of federal funding for non-compliant states could limit access to family planning services.
- Concerns about data privacy and security.
- Possible challenges in ensuring data accuracy and completeness across all states.
Most Disadvantaged Areas:
Constitutional Alignment
The bill's constitutionality is complex. Congress has broad authority to spend money for the general welfare under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. However, conditions attached to federal funding can raise concerns about coercion if they are unduly burdensome, potentially infringing on state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment. The bill also touches on privacy issues, which, while not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, have been interpreted as protected under the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
Impact Assessment: Things You Care About ⓘ
This action has been evaluated across 19 key areas that matter to you. Scores range from 1 (highly disadvantageous) to 5 (highly beneficial).