Last week, Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Joni Ernst of Iowa introduced legislation that would strengthen abortion reporting requirements in the United States. The Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2019 would specifically require states to publicly report cases where infants were born alive during failed abortions.

The bill would also require states to release accurate and timely abortion data in order to receive certain federal Medicaid family planning funding. This legislation has been cosponsored by seven other Republican U.S. senators. Additionally, companion legislation in the U.S. House has been introduced by Republican Reps. Gary Palmer of Alabama and Ralph Norman of South Carolina