Question 1

What does S253 do?

Accepted Answer

The Abortion Is Not Health Care Act of 2025 fundamentally restructures the federal tax treatment of abortion expenses by categorically excluding them from the medical expense deduction available under the Internal Revenue Code. The bill operates through a targeted amendment to IRC Section 213, which currently allows taxpayers who itemize deductions to claim qualifying medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of their adjusted gross income. By creating a new subsection that explicitly removes abortion-related payments from the calculation of deductible medical expenses, the legislation embeds a policy declaration in the tax code that abortion does not constitute healthcare for federal tax purposes. The bill establishes a general prohibition on deducting abortion expenses while carving out narrow exceptions for life-threatening medical conditions certified by a physician and for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. This approach represents an indirect economic restriction on abortion access through tax policy rather than direct prohibition, increasing the after-tax cost of abortion procedures for taxpayers who itemize deductions. The legislation reflects a federal policy alignment with existing abortion funding restrictions like the Hyde Amendment, extending the principle that federal tax benefits should not subsidize abortion services except in limited circumstances.

Question 2

Who sponsored S253?

Accepted Answer

Mike Lee, Jim Banks, Steve Daines, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Bill Hagerty, Kevin Cramer, Marsha Blackburn, Josh Hawley

Question 3

What is the status of S253?

Accepted Answer

Introduced as of January 24, 2025.

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