Pro-life legislative action ramps up ahead of March for Life

Jan 22, 2026 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

Legislation supporting pregnant and parenting college students, as well as pro-life pregnancy centers that serve them, is moving through Congress this week as the 2026 March for Life gets underway.

The U.S. House passed legislation that would allow states to use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and other federal grant funds for pregnancy resource centers. The House passed the measure ( HR 6945) by a vote of 215 to 209 on Jan. 21. A Senate vote is possible next week.

Bill cosponsor Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, said: “In a pro-abortion culture of denial that dismisses unborn babies and trivializes the harm suffered by women, pregnancy centers affirm the breathtaking miracle of unborn life and the truth that women deserve better than abortion.”

Another measure scheduled for legislative action includes a bill ( HR 6359) sponsored by Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, that would require U.S. colleges receiving federal student aid to provide students with information about how to choose to carry pregnancies without sacrificing their education.

“This is an opportunity for the GOP to expose Democrats’ extremist views on abortion to the American people as well as love them both — mother and preborn child,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, in a statement.

Newly introduced bills include a measure by Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, that would make it a crime to transport a minor across state lines to receive an abortion.

“Parents should not be kept in the dark if their kids cross state lines to receive an abortion. I’m proud to help introduce the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which would take important steps to protect vulnerable minors and support parents,” Kennedy said in statement Jan. 21.

The bill would protect victims of child abuse as well as human trafficking, Kennedy said.

Sens. Ashley Moody, R-Florida; Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana; Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota; Steve Daines, R-Montana; Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska; James Lankford, R-Oklahoma; and Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, said they would cosponsor the measure.

A House version ( HR 4964) was introduced by Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio, in August 2025. Taylor welcomed the introduction of the Senate measure and said: “This bill will hold all parties accountable and ensure children are not taken advantage of. As states like California and Illinois promote abortions for all and keep parents in the dark about their child’s health, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act will put parents back in the equation and protect the lives of both the child and the unborn.”

Lankford introduced a bill ( SB 6) on Jan. 15 that would set requirements for health care providers to provide care to babies born alive during botched abortions.

The bill says health care professionals must exercise “the same degree of care as would reasonably be provided to any other children born alive at the same gestational age” and that they must be immediately admitted to a hospital. If a health care professional is found guilty of failing to provide lifesaving care, he or she could face criminal penalties, up to five years in prison, or both under the measure.

“No child should be denied medical care simply because they are ‘unwanted.’ Today, if an abortion procedure fails and a child is born alive, doctors can just ignore the crying baby on the table and watch them slowly die of neglect. That’s not an abortion, that’s infanticide,” Lankford said in a statement.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/269261/pro-life-legislation-roundup-ahead-of-march-for-life