H.R. 2251 119th Congress House

Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act

Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination by abortion against an unborn child on the basis of Down syndrome.

Introduced: March 21, 2025 Introduced by: Ron Estes Republican · Kansas See on congress.gov

Crime and Law Enforcement

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Mar 21, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Mar 21, 2025

Introduced in House

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What's happening now March 21, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act

This bill creates new federal crimes related to the performance of an abortion on an unborn child who has Down syndrome.

It subjects a violator to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.

It also authorizes civil remedies, including damages and injunctive relief.

A woman who undergoes such an abortion may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable.

Related & companion bills 1

Bill text 1 version

Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 1

Judiciary Committee
House of Representatives

Lobbying activity 1

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

SUSAN B ANTHONY LIST
for SUSAN B ANTHONY LIST · Virginia · 1st Quarter 2025 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)

Bodies those filers lobbied

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1 filing
SENATE
1 filing

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

Cosponsors 16

Smith, Christopher H.

New Jersey · Sep 15, 2026

South Carolina · Nov 7, 2025

Kansas · Oct 31, 2025

Moore, Barry

Alabama · Oct 31, 2025

Sessions, Pete

Texas · Oct 31, 2025

Stutzman, Marlin A.

Indiana · Oct 31, 2025

Aderholt, Robert B.

Alabama · Oct 28, 2025

Bost, Mike

Illinois · Oct 28, 2025

Moolenaar, John R.

Michigan · Oct 28, 2025

Timmons, William R.

South Carolina · Oct 28, 2025

Miller, Mary E.

Illinois · Apr 7, 2025

Tenney, Claudia

New York · Apr 7, 2025

Cite this page click to expand

APA

U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2251: Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-2251/

MLA

"H.R. 2251: Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-2251/.

Bluebook (legal)

H.R. 2251, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-2251/.

Markdown link

[H.R. 2251: Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-2251/)