HR7235-119

What This Bill Does

The Protecting Motherhood Act is a terminology restriction for federal agencies. It prohibits any agency, using the Administrative Procedure Act definition, from using the term birthing person or any variation of that term in official documents, including regulations, guidance, forms, or communications. It affirmatively allows agencies to use female, mother, pregnant female, pregnant woman, or woman when referring to a female who is pregnant, giving birth, or a parent of a child. The bill defines female as a person belonging at conception to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell, mother as a female parent of a child, pregnant female as a person belonging at conception to that sex and carrying an unborn child, pregnant woman as an adult human female carrying an unborn child, and woman as an adult human female. The rule takes effect 30 days after enactment.

Who Benefits and How

Advocates for sex-specific federal terminology, federal form users who prefer mother or pregnant woman language, lawmakers seeking uniform agency drafting terms, and agencies with existing sex-specific documents benefit from a statutory permission to use female, mother, pregnant female, pregnant woman, and woman. The bill gives agencies a clear list of permitted replacement terms.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal agencies, agency rule writers, form designers, guidance authors, communications offices, healthcare program staff, LGBTQ+ policy offices, transgender men who are pregnant, nonbinary pregnant people, and public-facing federal programs face terminology review, document revision, communication changes, and potential exclusion or confusion for people who do not identify with the permitted terms. Agencies must update covered materials within 30 days.

Key Provisions

• Bars federal agencies from using birthing person or any variation in official documents.
• Applies the ban to regulations, guidance, forms, and communications.
• Allows agencies to use female, mother, pregnant female, pregnant woman, or woman for covered references.
• Defines agency, female, mother, pregnant female, pregnant woman, and woman.
• Takes effect 30 days after enactment.