Federal law criminalizes abortion access for minors across state lines

What it does

This bill creates two new federal crimes: (1) transporting a minor across state lines with intent to circumvent parental-involvement abortion laws, punishable by up to 1 year in prison; and (2) requiring physicians to notify a parent 24 hours before performing an abortion on an out-of-state minor, with exceptions for life-endangering conditions, court waivers, and abuse disclosures. Parents harmed by violations can sue for damages. Minors and their parents cannot be prosecuted under the bill.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is to criminalize interstate abortion access for minors and mandate parental notification, effectively extending state parental-involvement laws across state lines and reducing minors' practical ability to obtain abortion without parental knowledge.

What the text implies

• Minors fleeing abusive households or seeking abortion due to incest may be unable to access care without notifying the abuser, creating a safety trap for vulnerable youth.
• Physicians in permissive states face federal criminal liability for providing standard abortion care to out-of-state minors, potentially chilling abortion access nationwide and creating a de facto national parental-involvement requirement.
• The 24-hour notification requirement and constructive-notice mechanism (certified mail) may make timely abortion access impossible for minors in time-sensitive situations, effectively functioning as a delay tactic.
• The bill's incest exception (Section 2432) criminalizes only the abuser's transport, not the minor's or parent's involvement, but the parental-notification requirement in Section 2435 still applies to incest victims unless they disclose abuse to authorities—a high barrier for traumatized minors.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Minors in states with parental-involvement laws lose practical ability to obtain abortion without parental knowledge or consent, even if traveling to a permissive state; physicians face criminal penalties for providing care without parental notification, chilling abortion access for vulnerable minors (including abuse victims). The bill's exceptions for life-endangering conditions and abuse disclosures are narrow and procedurally burdensome.

Named in the bill

U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, State legislatures (parental-involvement law enforcers), Physicians/abortion providers, Minors, Parents

Where it stands

11 cosponsors: 11 Republicans.

• Jan 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jan 15, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $40,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 15 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Ashley Moody, the sponsor, reported $2,369,100 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Alliance Defending Freedom — $40,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.