The bill hasn’t been carefully constructed, Levenson notes. The term “forcible rape” is not defined in the federal criminal code, and the bill’s authors don’t offer their own definition. In some states, there is no legal definition of “forcible rape,” making it unclear whether any abortions would be covered by the rape exemption in those jurisdictions.
Five of six Republican members representing North Carolina also co-sponsored the bill: Howard Coble, Renee Ellmers, Virginia Foxx, Walter Jones and Patrick McHenry. There are ten Democratic co-sponsors of the bill.